Sakura and the Beast
by Crimson-Moon-Beams
Summary: AU SakuraxKisame: A Naruto twist on the famous Disney classic: Beauty and the Beast. Sakura dreams of living a life of adventure when she finds herself the hostage of a horrible beast in order to save her father. Can Sakura ever learn to love a beast?
1. Prologue: The Price of Beauty

**Sakura and the Beast**

**Prologue**

**The Price of Beauty**

Once upon a time, in a land far away, there lived a handsome young prince who dwelt in a beautiful castle. Although he could have anything his heart desired, the prince was spoiled, selfish, and unkind to all those around him. However, on a dark and cold winter's night, something would happen that would change the young prince's life forever.

_Knock, knock, knock_. The knocking echoed through the castle walls.

"Someone answer that door!" Prince Kisame demanded.

"Yes your highness." Itachi answered. He sighed as he slowly made his way to the door. He grabbed the large silver handles and pulled the giant door open with a loud creaking sound. Cold air and a few stray snowflakes flew into the castle melting immediately in the warm air.

Itachi looked down to find an old woman standing at his master's gate.

"Can I help you?" Itachi asked.

"Please sir, I wish to speak to your master." The old woman answered. Her voice was soft and craggy. She coughed slightly in the cold night's air. Itachi nodded staring down at the old woman. He turned to his master who was glaring at the food the town's baker's son had made for them.

"Master, there is a woman here who wishes to speak with you." Itachi announced.

"Oh, a girl, yeah? I want to see her too!" Deidara called out.

"If Deidara wants to see her Tobi wants to see her too!" Tobi called out happily. Deidara glared at Tobi but ignored him and turned to Sasori.

"Sasori, you want to see her too don't you?" Deidara asked enthusiastically.

"No, not particularly." Sasori replied nonchalantly. Deidara's face fell. He turned back to face forward and pushed his fingers together. Kisame sighed angrily. He hated dealing with people, especially when he was trying to eat. He walked over to the front door. Itachi bowed and moved to the side as Kisame opened the door further and stared down at the old woman. She was wearing nothing but green rags and held herself up on a crooked wooden cane. Her back was hunched and when she looked up at Kisame her face was one of the most disgusting faces Kisame had ever seen. Kisame took a small step back, repulsed by this horribly disfigured old woman.

"If the master is stepping back she must be pretty ugly, yeah." Deidara whispered to everyone else. Konan and Pein ignored him like they usually did and went back to talking about many random conversations, most of them reverting back to being about Pein.

"I can see her from here, she definitely is one fucking ugly bitch." Hidan said shaking his head.

"If she has money who cares?" Kakuzo asked.

"I wonder what the hell she wants." Zetsu said staring into space like he usually did.

"Please kind sir, I wish only to spend the night out of this cold weather. I will repay you for your kindness by giving you this small token of my gratitude." The old woman pulled her hand out from under her robes revealing a single red rose. Kisame scoffed at the offering. Not only was her token worthless, he was not going to let such a hideous old woman sleep in his castle.

"No, I will not let a disgusting beggar woman like yourself into my castle. Be gone with you!" Kisame demanded. The old woman looked at the prince.

"I should warn you, young prince, do not be deceived by mere appearances. True beauty is a beauty that is found within." Kisame sneered at the old woman. He was not used to having anyone ignore his orders before.

"I said be gone with you, you old hag! Your presence is not welcome here!" Kisame dismissed her once more. Suddenly, the old woman's horrible face began to shift and soon a beautiful enchantress stood before the prince. Her long blond hair was tied into pig-tails that fell loosely on her shoulders. Her red-brown eyes glared at Kisame and the green rags had transformed into a beautiful green dress.

"Now do you see, young prince, how your foolish ideals have mislead you?" The enchantress asked. Kisame stood at his door completely shocked. Everyone in the room stood still, unsure of what to do. Suddenly Kisame fell to the ground.

"Please spare me. I meant no harm I swear it. If I had known you were this beautiful before I would have-"

"You would have what? Accepted me into your castle? I'm afraid, young prince, you had your chance to redeem yourself and you lost it when you cast me away because my appearance displeased you. Your heart is cold, and no love lingers there. If this is how you wish to act, then I shall curse you and all that live here." The enchantress lifted her hand and held it above the prince. Suddenly a light emitted from her hand and encircled the prince and the entire castle. He closed his eyes trying to cover himself.

When Kisame opened his eyes again he was shocked to find his hands had turned a horrible shade of blue. He stood and stumbled over to a shining silver plate. He looked into it to find his entire body had changed. His face was the same blue colour, his teeth had become pointed and sharp, his eyes were round and he had gills on his cheeks. He looked like a shark, the beast of the sea.

He threw the plate to the ground.

"What have you done to me?!" He demanded covering his face with one hand and glaring at the enchantress.

"This is the price for regarding beauty so highly. I have made you that which you despise most, a hideous beast." She replied. Kisame looked around him and, ashamed, ran up to the west wing of the castle. The enchantress sighed staring around the castle sadly. She knew that she needed to change this prince, but still, she couldn't help but feel guilty for the pain she must have been causing him. She slowly turned around and walked off into the dark night.

Itachi, Deidara, Sasori, and the rest of the prince's staff followed their master and watched as the prince destroyed his room and ripped the only portrait he had of himself. Silently they watched as Kisame slowly fell into darkness, concealing himself away in the castle with a magic mirror as his only way to see the outside world.

The rose that the enchantress had offered, was an enchanted rose that would continue to bloom until the prince's twenty-first birthday. Only when the prince could learn to love, and be loved in return by another, would he be able to break the curse that the enchantress had placed upon him and his castle. However, if the prince was unable to do this by the time the last petal on the rose fell, he would be doomed to remain a beast, for all of eternity.

As the years passed, the prince fell further into darkness and despair. Soon he lost all hope of ever finding anyone who would truly love him. After all, who could ever learn to love a beast?


	2. Chapter One: The Castle

**Chapter One**

**The Castle**

The morning rooster called alerting the town that dawn had finally approached. Sakura quickly dashed out the door.

"Going into town again today?" Her father asked. Sakura stopped suddenly as she was about to head down the stone steps of her little cottage and smiled.

"I have to return this book to the bookshop and I was going to quickly visit Tsunade. I'll be home right after and this way you'll have more room to finish your new invention for the fair tomorrow." She said.

"Well alright, have fun." Her father said smiling.

"Thank you papa, I will!" She waved and walked down the small dirt path to the town. She slowly put the book into her small basket and sighed deeply. Sakura loved early mornings. A chilly wind blew through the autumn air, hinting that the first snow of winter would be coming soon.

Small birds chirped and flew around Sakura as she walked. She smiled and pushed a stray strand of her pink hair off of her forehead. Her pink hair was short, just above her shoulders, and she wore a red ribbon around her head to keep her bangs from falling in her face. She wore a simple red dress that had a white collar and white sleeves. A white apron fell over the skirt of the dress but it suited her well.

Sakura sighed again as she came closer to town. It was a little town, nothing more than a quiet village, a village where each day was like the one before it. Sakura slowly walked over the stone bridge that finally led her into the village. It wasn't a long walk from her cottage to the town, but she loved that morning walk she took everyday.

Suddenly people began to come out of their homes preparing for the work set out for them.

"Hello."

"Good morning."

"How are you today?" Each of them greeted the other. Sakura smiled. She had grown up in this village her whole life, and knew each villager well. Sakura looked up as the baker walked by with his same rolls of bread to sell. She looked around. Every morning was always the same, nothing in this village ever seemed to change.

"Good morning Sakura." The farmer said as he walked by. Sakura bowed out of respect but couldn't put a word in as he quickly walked away too busy to have a decent conversation. Sakura sighed. She wanted to see more than just this little provincial town.

"Good morning Sakura!" Sakura turned to see the Baker, Mr. Akimichi, setting down some more rolls in front of his bakery.

"Good morning sir, how are you?" She asked.

"Very well, and what about you? Where are you headed today?" He asked.

"The bookshop, I just finished the most wonderful story," Sakura said while taking out her book. "About a beanstalk and an ogre and-"

"That's nice. Honey, where are the baguettes we need more!" He called to his wife interrupting Sakura. Sakura put her book back in her basket and shrugged her shoulders before walking away.

"Oh wait Sakura, have you heard anything lately about…Choji?" Sakura turned to look back at the baker. Her face fell and she sadly shook her head. Mr. Akimichi's face fell too. He quickly smiled, however, and waved.

"Never mind, if you hear anything let me know." He said and quickly turned back to his work. Sakura sighed. Choji was Mr. Akimichi's son. He had been missing for the last couple of years but Mr. Akimichi hadn't given up hope yet. He went on a search through the neighbouring towns every once in a awhile just in case.

Sakura waved and smiled as more villagers passed by, but whenever she went to talk to them about her book they all shrugged her off. Everyone was too busy to listen to her ramble on about her silly stories and books. She continued to walk looking around the town, busily daydreaming as always.

"Look there she is, that girl that seems rather strange. All she ever seems to do is daydream don't you think?" An older woman was commenting to her friend.

"Oh yes you're quite right she is rather strange." Her friend agreed.

"Her head is always up on a cloud."

"Doesn't she ever do anything other than daydream?"

"No doubt that Sakura is a very funny girl." The other townsfolk agreed as Sakura continued to walk through the streets not paying attention to anyone else. Sakura quickly jumped on a passing carriage and watched the people as the carriage traveled through the town.

"Good day." The carriage driver said to a young woman walking through the street.

"Hello, how are you feeling?" She asked.

"Fine thank you, good to see you." He replied continuing on.

"Good morning." A woman with a rather large chest said to the butcher. The butcher eyed the woman with eagerness just to talk to her.

"Hello." He said handing her a ham she must have ordered. Suddenly another woman appeared behind him.

"How is your wife?" The other woman asked. The butcher just smiled and the woman walked away. The butcher's wife glared at him and hit him over the head with a rolling pin. Sakura shook her head and rolled her eyes.

"Please sir I need six eggs." A completely worn woman with five children surrounding her told the farmer. Sakura looked over and around the town.

She sighed. "There really has to be more than this provincial life." She said to herself. She slowly turned and jumped from the carriage as it went by the bookseller's store. Sakura walked in and the small bell near the door rang.

"Oh Sakura, back again already?" Mr. Sarutobi, the bookseller, asked.

"Good morning, I came to return the book you lent me yesterday." Sakura said handing the book back to Mr. Sarutobi

"Finished it already?" He asked.

"Oh I couldn't put it down, it kept me up practically all night. Do you have anything new?" Sakura asked scaling the shelf-ladder to look at the books on the highest shelf.

Mr. Sarutobi laughed. "Not since yesterday I haven't." He replied.

"Oh, well that's alright. I'll borrow…this one!" Sakura said happily handing a book bound in blue to him.

"That one?" He asked moving his glasses up his nose to read the title.

He laughed again. "Sakura you've already read this one twice before."

"Oh I know but it's my favourite! Far off places, daring swordfights, magic spells, a prince in disguise!" Sakura said happily sliding the ladder down the book shelf. She jumped off and walked back over to Mr. Sarutobi.

"Well Sakura, if you like it that much then it's yours."

"But sir, I couldn't possibly!" Sakura said shocked.

"No, no Sakura, I insist you have it."

"Sir, I don't know what to say. Thank you, thank you so much!" She said happily leaving the store. Mr. Sarutobi smiled and waved as she left. Some men watched as Sakura left the store and continued to watch her as she went.

"She really is rather peculiar isn't she?" One of them said.

"Yeah, I wonder if she's feeling alright." Another said.

"Who knows really, she's just so strange." The other agreed.

"She always has a dreamy, far-off look." One woman said.

"And her nose is always stuck in a book isn't it?" Another man said.

"She really is a puzzle to the rest of us that Sakura is." Another woman agreed. Again Sakura was too busy reading to even listen to the other villagers as she walked through the town, using a sign to block some water from hitting her and patting a small girl on the head. She walked to the center of town and found a nice place to sit on the stone fountain in the town square. Some sheep walked by and they two stopped to see what she was doing.

"Wow, isn't this amazing? This is my favourite part, because, well, here I'll show you." Sakura said holding the book out for the sheep to see. She pointed to an illustration in the book of a handsome man talking to a beautiful girl.

"See, this is where she meets prince charming, but she won't actually find out that it's him until chapter three." Sakura described excitedly. She went back to reading as the Sheppard moved the rest of his flock forward and the two sheep followed. Sakura sighed happily, stood back up, and continued to walk while still reading.

"Well her looks really do not have any parallel do they?" One woman said to a hat shop owner.

"True, but behind that pretty face, she is rather odd. She really is different from the rest of us." The owner agreed. Sakura continued walking forward as a flock of ducks flew overhead. There was a sudden shot, and one of the ducks fell to the ground. Naruto ran out with a bag and put it in the air trying to catch it. He missed, of course, and it fell to the ground. He looked around, hoping no one saw the mistake, and stuffed the bird into his bag. He ran back over to the one who had taken the shot.

"Wow Sasuke you got another one! That was a pretty sweet shot." He said excitedly. Sasuke stepped away from the wall he was by and smiled.

"Yeah, I know." He said walking away.

"Yeah, right. Can we get something to eat? I'm starving." Naruto said bringing the rest of Sasuke's game with him.

"No, not yet." Sasuke replied.

"Why not? You've been hunting all day and I'm hungry." Naruto pouted and then saw Sasuke was staring after something. He turned his blue eyes in the direction Sasuke was looking and saw that he was staring at Sakura. Naruto blushed slightly. Sakura was by far the most beautiful girl in the village, but she never paid anyone in town any mind at all, especially not Sasuke.

"So, now you're done hunting animals, you're going to try to hunt down some girls?" Naruto asked unimpressed.

"Not just any girl, I've got my eyes set on a special girl." Sasuke said pointing to Sakura as she walked through town with a book in her hand.

"The inventor's daughter? What a surprise." Naruto said sarcastically.

"She's the one, the lucky girl that I'm going to marry." Sasuke said not even paying attention to Naruto

"But Sasuke, she's-"

"The most beautiful girl in this town." Sasuke cut Naruto off.

"I know but…owww!" Naruto was cut off and Sasuke threw his hunting rifle at Naruto and it hit him in the eye.

"That simple fact makes her the best, and don't you think I deserve the best?" Sasuke asked pulling Naruto up by the cuff of his shirt.

"Well, I guess you do I don't honestly know but personally I-" Naruto was cut off, yet again, as Sasuke dropped him back to the ground.

"From the first time I met her, no, from the first time I _saw_ her I knew she was beautiful and, of course, I fell. In this town she's the only one that's as beautiful as I am. So, I'm making plans to woo and then marry Sakura." Sasuke said. He turned as he noticed Sakura walk by him. He quickly struck a quick pose but Sakura kept walking without even looking up at him. Sasuke's face fell and he quickly followed behind her trying to catch up. Ino, and two other girls from the village, looked up as Sasuke walked by quickly followed by Naruto.

"Look, there he is, it's Sasuke." Ino said happily.

"Oh he is so cute." The other girl replied.

"Oh, be still my heart." Ino said dramatically.

"I'm hardly breathing." The other girl agreed.

"Me too." The other girl said. They grabbed hands and sighed.

"He such a tall, dark strong and handsome knight." Ino said. The three girls looked at each other.

"He's perfect!" They squealed.

"Yeah, but he's always following that Sakura girl." One of the girls pointed out.

"True, I don't know why though. She's so weird." The other girl commented.

"No way am I losing Sasuke to that bookworm. Come on girls let's go." Ino said. She walked after Sasuke and the other two girls followed. Sasuke was still continuing to run after Sakura but was continuously being cut off by the busy crowds looking to purchase items and food in the market place.

"Excuse me, coming through, let me through." Sasuke asked trying to push his way through the crowds. Sakura stepped through the crowds into an open area of town. She sighed again hugging her book to her chest.

"There really has to be more than this provincial life." She said to herself.

"Just watch me, I am going to sweep Sakura off her feet and then I'm going to make her my wife." Sasuke said undoubtedly determined.

"There she goes again, that Sakura. She really is a strange one." One villager said.

"True but she is special at the same time." One added in.

"Yes she is isn't she? Too bad she doesn't really fit in here." One said shaking his head.

"Yes, too bad indeed." Another agreed.

"Yes she really is a funny girl." Another said.

"A real beauty, but still a strange girl is that Sakura." Another agreed. And they all watched as she slowly started to leave town. Sakura turned as she thought she heard someone say her name but just found the villagers walking up and down the streets as usual. She shrugged her shoulders and went back to reading. Sasuke, who had gone into a house and had climbed onto the roof through a window to get around the crowds, jumped off the roof and landed with a thud in front of Sakura.

"Why, hello Sakura." He said.

"Oh, hello Sasuke." Sakura said not looking up from her book. Sasuke suddenly walked behind her and took the book from her hands. Sakura glared slightly at him. Sasuke was again up to his annoying old tricks.

"Sasuke, may I have my book please?" Sakura asked trying to be polite. Sasuke looked at the book and turned it sideways and upside down.

"How can you even read this? There's no pictures." He sated confused.

Sakura crossed her arms. "Well some people like to use their imagination instead of looking at pictures." Sasuke looked at her shocked and then shook his head.

"You know Sakura it's about time you got your head out of these books and started to pay attention to more important things." Sasuke said throwing Sakura's book. It landed in some muddy water and Sakura sighed angrily. She bent down to pick it up but Sasuke stood in front of it.

"Like what?" Sakura asked annoyed.

"Well, like me." Sasuke said smiling. Ino and the two other girls had finally caught up to Sasuke and sighed when he smiled. Sasuke began to pace around Sakura as she picked up her book from the mud.

"I mean haven't you heard? Everyone's been talking about your weird hobby. It's not right for a woman to be reading. Soon she starts getting ideas in her head and…thinking." Sasuke cringed at the very thought. Sakura sighed and stood back to her feet.

"Sasuke you are absolutely ridiculous." She said with a coy smile.

"Why, thank you Sakura." Sasuke said taking her actual insult as a compliment. Sakura rolled her eyes and wiped the mud from her book. Sasuke suddenly put his arm around Sakura's shoulders.

"Hey, what say me and you take a walk over to the tavern and I can show you some of my trophies." Sasuke started to lead Sakura off. Sakura rolled her eyes unimpressed.

"Maybe some other time." She said.

"What is wrong with her?!" On girl asked shocked.

"How could you say no to such a gorgeous face?" The other girl asked in disbelief.

"Let's face it, that bookworm is just as crazy as her father." Ino said shaking her head. Sakura looked back at her and Ino threw her an evil smile. Sakura quickly wound her way out of Sasuke's arm, picked up a small rock, and threw it at Ino. It hit her right in the nose.

"Oww my nose!" Ino screamed.

"Oh Ino are you ok?!" One of the girls asked.

"Hurry we need to get her to the doctor quickly!" The other girl said and they rushed Ino off to the doctor's. Sakura smiled triumphantly and then turned back to Sasuke.

"Please Sasuke I can't go, I have to go to see Tsunade and then go home and help my father. I'll see you around, bye." She said moving further down the path. Suddenly Naruto started laughing.

"That old loon? I'm not surprised, he needs all the help he can get." He said. Sasuke started to laugh. Sakura put her fists on her hips and glared at them.

"Don't talk about my father that way." She demanded. Sasuke suddenly stopped laughing and hit Naruto in the head.

"Yeah, don't talk about Sakura's father that way." He demanded trying to impress her.

"My father is not crazy," Sakura insisted putting her book angrily into her basket. "He's a genius." Suddenly a loud explosion came from Sakura's cottage. She turned to see smoke rising from her chimney and windows. She put her hands to her face in shock and quickly ran home, listening to Sasuke and Naruto laugh behind her back as she went. She quickly ran home and opened the two doors that lead into the cellar, her father's workshop. She covered her face as smoke came out the doors. Her father was coughing down below and had gotten himself stuck in a barrel.

"Papa?" Sakura asked through coughs as she waved her hand through the smoke.

"How on earth did that happen?" Her father asked himself as he pulled himself from the barrel.

"Are you alright papa?" Sakura asked concerned. Her father was getting quite old. His hair was already a silver-white and she worried about him constantly. Not once had his inventions ever worked out for him, but Sakura never lost hope that the next invention would be the one to put her father's name on the map.

"I'm alright, but I'm just about to give up hope on this hunk of junk." Her father said kicking a pile of machinery that sat in the corner of his workshop. Her father had been working on his invention for weeks preparing it for the fair. It was supposed to automatically cut wood and pile it for you and all you had to do was keep the coal in the stove that was used to make it work hot. So far, though, no attempts to make it work had actually been successful.

Sakura smiled. "But papa you always say that."

"No, I mean it this time. There is no way I'll ever get this cursed contraption to work!" He said angrily.

"Yes you will, I know you will. And when you do you'll win first prize at the fair tomorrow." Sakura said trying to raise her father's spirits.

"Hmph." Her father said crossing his arms. Sakura put her hands on her father's shoulders.

"And you'll also become a world famous inventor." She said teasingly.

"You really believe that?" He asked cocking an eyebrow.

"I always have, and you know that." Sakura said smiling.

"Well then what are we waiting for! I'll have this thing fixed in no time!" Sakura's father said with a new found hope. Sakura smiled seeing her father energetic again. He slowly rolled himself under the invention and began working away.

"So, did you have a good time in town today? Did you see Tsunade?" He asked.

"Well, I got a new book and when I heard the explosion coming from the house I rushed back here. I'll go see Tsunade a little later. Papa, do you think I'm odd?" Sakura asked walking to the other side of the invention. Her father rolled out from under his invention with ridiculous looking glasses on that magnified his eyes so they were two sizes too big.

"My daughter, odd? Where in the world would you get an idea like that?" Her father asked completely amazed the idea even came up.

"I don't know. I just…don't think I really fit in here. I don't really have anyone to talk to." Sakura said, hugging her book to her chest and looking around sadly.

"Well, uh, what about that Sasuke? He's a handsome guy." Her father suggested.

"Oh he's handsome alright, and rude, and conceited and…oh papa he's definitely not the one for me." Sakura said sitting down and resting her chin on her hand.

"Well, don't you worry, because this invention is going to be the start of a new life for us," Sakura's father said crawling out from under his contraption. "Now, let's give it a try." He said pulling back a lever near the end of the invention. A horn on the top of the invention wailed, springs bounced, wheels turned and the hot coals flared. Sakura hid behind her father and her father closed his eyes and covered his ears. When no explosion happened he opened them to watch.

Suddenly an ax fell down on a piece of wood resting there. It fell once, then again, and then again until the wood split in two. The wood then fell on a spring loaded plank which sent the wood flying into an already made pile of wood.

Sakura's face lit up. "It works!" She said happily.

"It does?" Her father asked. He smiled and dodged a piece of wood that came flying by his head.

"It does!" He said enthusiastically.

"You did it! You really did it!" Sakura said hugging her father and jumping happily.

"You better believe it! Now I'm ready, and am going off to the fair!" Her father announced, before a piece of wood flew and hit him in the head. Sakura helped her father pack the invention into a cart and they attached their horse, Phillip, to the cart. Her father got up on Phillip and then began to ride away.

"Bye papa! Good luck!" She called and waved.

"Bye Sakura! Make sure to take care while I'm gone!" Her father called happily. Sakura waved once more before sighing happily for her father. Sakura then made her way down to Tsunade's house. Tsunade lived just behind her, a little further into the forest. Tsunade's house was a small cottage that was slowly deteriorating away. Sakura came up to the small cottage and brushed up a few stray pieces of wood and weeds.

She went up to the front door and moved her hand to knock when a voice sounded out.

"I've told you a thousand times Sakura, just come in." Sakura smiled at hearing Tsunade's voice and walked into the cottage. The inside of the cottage always threw Sakura for a loop. The outside was so old and falling apart, but as soon as you walked through the front door the entire atmosphere changed. The house was bright and new and decorated with a very rustic charm.

"Tsunade, where are you?" Sakura asked walking through the living room and dining room.

"In the kitchen I'll be out in a second, just take a seat in the living room." Tsunade called back. Sakura shrugged her shoulders and sat down on a soft couch. After a few moments Tsunade came through the door carrying a tray with two teacups, a teapot, a milk cup, and a sugar bowl.

"I thought you might like some tea while you visit." Tsunade said with a smile. Sakura smiled back. After all the years Sakura had known Tsunade, she never seemed to change. Her hair was always the same light blonde, her eyes always had the same bright fire in them, and her face always remained flawless. Sakura shrugged figuring it was just because Tsunade was an enchantress.

Sakura found out Tsunade was an enchantress when she was very young. She caught Tsunade using one of her spells to make her wrinkles disappear. Sakura only ever knew Tsunade for using spells on herself, but apparently Tsunade used her magic for good very often. When Sakura found out Tsunade made her promise never to tell a soul and in return she would teach Sakura a few small spells. Tsunade always had believed in fair exchange. When you did something for someone, you should get something out of it and vice-versa.

"So Sakura," Tsunade said taking a sip of her tea, "how was your trip through the village today?"

"Same as always. Tsunade I don't know how much more of this village I can take. Don't get me wrong, I love it here, and I love the people, but I want…I want…"

"Adventure?" Tsunade asked.

"Exactly. I want to do something more with my life then just sit back and be someone's wife." Sakura said sighing.

"Someone wants you to be their wife?" Tsunade asked raising an eyebrow.

"No, not that I know of, but there is someone who's trying very hard to win my affection." Sakura admitted.

"Oh, and who is it?" Tsunade asked.

"Sasuke." Sakura answered bluntly. Tsunade almost spit out her tea.

"_That_ Sasuke?"

"Yes _that_ Sasuke. He's always following me around and he always wants me to go and 'see his trophies' but I really can't picture myself with him. He's too conceited, too boorish, too…"

"Pig-headed, too pea-brained, too vain, too…" Tsunade continued. Sakura smiled and Tsunade smiled back.

"Exactly. I could never be with a guy like Sasuke. We don't match at all and have absolutely nothing in common. I don't think I'll ever actually find someone for myself." Sakura said sighing.

"Sakura, let me tell you something, you are a beautiful girl. You have an amazing personality and you're neither selfish, nor idiotic, nor self-centered. It is true you would never make a good match with Sasuke, but there is someone out there who would suit you perfectly, you just have to try a little harder to find him." Tsunade said and winked at Sakura.

Sakura smiled. "Thank you Tsunade."

Tsunade smiled back. "It's what I'm here for. Now then, how about I teach you some new spells? It'll help get your mind off this ridiculous subject."

"Alright." Sakura said happily. She placed her cup back on the tray and followed Tsunade into her work-shop. Sakura stared around the room, at all the trinkets and tokens, bottles and flasks, if anyone were to find this Tsunade would definitely be thrown in the insane asylum. Sakura shrugged that thought off and prepared to practice some new spells, thinking only of how her father must have been doing.

Sakura's father knew it would take almost all day to get to the fair in the next town over. He was hoping to get there before nightfall but as he made his way passed corn fields and farms, light slowly began to fade away and was soon replaced by the deep darkness of night. Soon her father came into a dark forest.

"Hmm, that's odd. We should be in the next town by now. Did we miss a turn? I guess I should have…oh, wait a minute." Her father came up to a sign in the forest where there was a fork in the road. He held up a lantern to see if he could read the signs, but they were so worn down the paint was illegible. Phillip turned to go left, but Sakura's father stopped him.

"No, we should go this way." He pulled Phillip's reins to the right. Phillip looked down the two pathways. The right pathway was dark and looked foreboding, but the path to the left was bright and cheery. Phillip ignored Sakura's father and turned to go left again. Sakura's father quickly pulled the reins right to stop him.

"Oh come on Phillip, it's a short cut. If we go this way I'm sure we'll be there in no time." He said matter-of-factly. Phillip had no choice but to go down the path his master ordered him to, but he still felt wary. This path has a sinister feel about it. The trees all seemed dead and stuck out in sharp angles. Fallen leaves blew and rustled in the cold wind, but there was no other sound. No cricking of crickets, no hooting of the owls, nothing.

Suddenly Phillip tensed as he sensed something running near him and his master. He looked around and began to slowly back away. He whinnied as howls erupted throughout the forest.

"Oh this can't be right. Where have you taken us Phillip?" Sakura's father demanded as he looked over his map. He pulled Phillip's reins back and looked around.

"We better turn around." He said worriedly as the howls grew louder. Phillip continued to back away and Sakura's father tried to get control over him.

"Whoa, whoa boy, calm down, whoa." He said. Phillip continued to back up until the cart suddenly hit a tree. Yellow eyes appeared in the tree and bats flew out of a hole. They surrounded Sakura's father and Phillip. In a panic Phillip ran forward trying to escape the bats. Phillip was running too fast and Sakura's father was having trouble hanging on to the reins. Suddenly Phillip came to a halting stop near the edge of a cliff.

"Back up, back up, back up!" Sakura's father demanded pulling the reins. Phillip slowly began to back up as his master said.

"That's a good boy, there we go, steady now steady." He demanded. Suddenly Phillip heard barking and loud howls. In another panic Phillip stood straight up throwing his master to the ground. Without a second though Phillip ran into the woods trying to escape the oncoming danger. As Phillip ran two wolves suddenly appeared and chased after the terrified horse. Sakura's father slowly stood back up. His lantern had smashed when he had been tossed from Phillip and his hat had fallen off. He looked around realizing he was in an unknown forest, alone, and without a proper light.

"Phillip?" He whispered. No sound answered him back. He grabbed his hat and put it back on. Suddenly he heard loud growling noises and he turned to see a pack of wolves standing at the top of a hill staring down at him. Sakura's father gasped in fear and began to run into the woods. The wolves quickly gave chase following the man through the dense forest. Sakura's father continued to run looking back to see the wolves quickly gaining up on him.

He lost his footing and fell down a small hill. He looked up to see a grand iron gate standing tall before him. He quickly stood up and ran for it. He grabbed the iron gate and shook it with all his might.

"Help! Is somewhere there?! Please help!" He called out. Suddenly the gate fell open and he fell inside. He quickly shut the gate with his foot, blocking the wolves from reaching him. He started to crawl away when one of the wolves grabbed his foot. He panicked and kicked the wolf away. He quickly stood and walked away from the gate. He looked forward to find himself on a bridge that lead to an enormous and grand castle. It was dark with gargoyles sitting near every corner and spire. There was a large tower jutting out at the back. The castle looked uninhabited, or at least it looked like it had been for quite some time.

Sakura's father walked forward, leaving his hat near the gate where it had fallen, hoping that someone lived in that castle and could help him. Suddenly lighting struck and thunder roared. Sakura's father quickly ran for the front doors as rain began to fall in sheets hoping to stay as dry as possible. He knocked on the door and it slowly opened. He walked into a grand hallway with six pillars holding the tall ceiling up and a large stairway leading to the upper floors of the castle. The hallway seemed polished, but it was also apparent that dust had been gathering for quite some time.

"Hello?" Sakura's father called. He hugged himself for warmth.

"Hello?" he called again.

"Hey, who the hell is that?" A small voice asked. It was male.

"How the fuck should I know?" Another small voice answered. This one was also male.

"Maybe he got lost and ended up here?" Another voice suggested. This time it was a female's voice.

"You fools, keep quiet. We don't want him here so shut up." A small, but commanding, male voice said. Sakura's father looked around.

"Is someone there?" He asked.

"Should we answer him, yeah?" A small voice asked.

"No Deidara! Not one word!" The commanding voice answered.

"I-I don't mean to intrude, but I've lost my horse and I need a place to stay for the night." Sakura's father explained.

"Well, we can't really leave him to wander." A small voice said.

"Sasori no. We can not meddle with things that have nothing to do with us." The commanding voice said.

"But Pein what else are we supposed to do?" The female voice asked.

"Leave him." Pein answered.

"But, what if the master finds him? What do you think will happen to us if he finds out we just let him walk around the castle? What if he goes into certain rooms he's not supposed to be in and breaks a certain important object?" A calm voice asked.

There was silence for a moment and then the commanding voice rang out again.

"Damn it Itachi I hate it when you make more sense than I do. Fine then, you deal with it I'm leaving." Sakura's father jumped as something white skirted across the room and through a door. Soon a few more flashes of colour followed behind.

"Hello? Is someone there?" He asked.

"Hello sir welcome to Hollow Bastion, yeah." Deidara said.

"Huh? Who said that?" Sakura's father asked.

"It was I the great, golden ea-"

"Please ignore him." Sakura's father looked down to see some small animals standing at his feet.

"What in the world? Talking animals? How is this possible?" He asked himself. He bent down to look at the small creatures completely shocked.

"Umm, we're not quite sure how to explain. It just sort of happened, yeah." A small canary told him. The canary had blue eyes, which was quite odd, and a few of the longer feathers on his head fell over his left eye.

"Incredible." Sakura's father stated. He reached down and picked up a silver rat that was sitting on the floor by the canary. Its eyes were a red-purple and it didn't look very happy.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" It asked angrily.

"Oh, oh my goodness I'm sorry I've just never seen talking animals before." Sakura's father apologized.

"Holy shit I'm so fucking shocked. Who the fuck else has seen talking animals before?! Now put me back on the fucking ground before I kick the shit out of you!" The rat demanded. Sakura's father did as he was told.

"Ha, Hidan got man-handled, yeah." The canary laughed.

"Shut the fuck up canary!" The rat yelled.

"I am not a canary! I am a majestic golden eagle, yeah. I fly through the sky with the utmost of dignity and grace and land on my perch overlooking my kingdom with barely a sound." The canary flew up, circled in the air, and went to land on a red bird perch nearby. Suddenly the bird perch moved just as the canary was about to land on it and the canary fell to the ground.

"How dare you! You're supposed to stay still Gaara, yeah!" The canary yelled angrily.

"Consider this my revenge." Gaara, the red bird perch, replied. Sakura's father looked around amazed. First the animals were talking now even inanimate objects were talking too. This castle was incredible. Sakura's father suddenly closed his eyes and a great sneeze erupted from his mouth.

"Oh great! Now the fucking old man is sick." Hidan said angrily.

"Please sir if you would follow me. We can get you warmed by the fire." Sakura's father looked down to see a black weasel with red eyes staring up at him.

"Um, alright. Thank you." He replied.

"No need to thank me. I'm only doing this so you won't infect the rest of us." The weasel replied calmly.

"Oh." Sakura's father said. He followed the weasel into a room off to the right and found a grand room that had two coats of arms hanging from the walls, a grand chair, and a warm fire already burning.

"No this is bad Itachi, what happens if the master finds us, yeah?" The canary asked.

"I'd prefer, Deidara, that the master finds him with us here at least instead of on his own." Itachi replied.

"But why?" Deidara asked.

"Because the master won't be as, _forceful_ if I'm here." Itachi answered. Deidara stopped asking questions realizing that Itachi was right. Sakura's father sat in the chair and the heat from the fire immediately warmed his cold skin.

"Oh shit, not the master's chair! Why the fuck are you letting him sit the fucking _master's_ chair?!" Hidan asked.

"I'd rather he sit in the chair than on the floor. We just had them cleaned." Itachi replied. Deidara and Hidan stared at Itachi unsure of what to say. Hidan suddenly pointed a small finger at him.

"You're fucked." He said and slowly scurried off.

"What's his problem, yeah?" Deidara asked.

"He's a rat what do you expect?" Itachi said looking at Deidara.

"Fuck you Itachi I heard that!" Hidan yelled from across the room. There were a few more scurrying footsteps but they soon died away. They were quickly replaced by louder footsteps.

"Tobi heard there was a new person? Is there a new person Deidara? Is there, is there?!" Sakura's father looked over to see a black dog with an orange circle around his right eye. He was small, like a Yorkshire terrier, but with longer fur. He had the canary pinned down.

"Where's the person? Tobi wanted to meet them." The dog said excitedly.

"Tobi get off of me, yeah! The person is over there!" The canary said pointing a wing at Sakura's father. The dog's face lit up and he ran over to her father jumping up happily trying to lick Sakura's father's face.

"Why hello there little guy." Sakura's father said patting the dog.

"Oh, Tobi likes it when people pet him. Master never pets Tobi." He said sitting quite contently.

"Tobi, where's Deidara?" Itachi suddenly said. Tobi's head lifted and he looked around until his eyes found Deidara. Deidara's face fell as Tobi suddenly ran full speed after him. Deidara quickly jumped up and tried to fly away with Tobi chasing right behind him.

"I hate you Itachi!" Deidara yelled and flew off. Itachi shook his head and turned back to his guest. Sakura's father was still warming himself by the fire when a coat rack suddenly appeared and wrapped a blanket around him.

"Oh why thank you." He said. Suddenly Deidara appeared again.

"Oh, back so soon?" Itachi asked.

"I…finally…got rid…of that…idiot…" Deidara said through gasps of breath.

"I see." Itachi replied. Deidara glared at him then tensed.

"Itachi, I think this has gone on long enough, yeah. We should send him away now." Deidara said concern shrouding his voice.

"Why?" Itachi asked.

"You know why, yeah." Deidara replied. Suddenly he was stepped on by a light blue paw. Sakura's father looked over as a blue cat with a white spot behind her right ear jumped up on the arm of the chair.

"Hello." The cat said. It was a female.

"Oh, um, hello there." Sakura's father replied.

"Konan, what are you doing here?" Itachi asked.

"And why'd you step on me, yeah?" Deidara asked rubbing his head with one wing.

"I came to see the human everyone seems so interested in." She replied looking at Sakura's father with keen interest. After staying in the same spot, unmoving and watching Sakura's father for a few minutes Konan suddenly jumped back down and walked off. When she got to the door of the room she turned around.

"Oh and Itachi, I don't know what you're planning but I suggest you let this poor man leave before master comes down here and finds out about what you're doing." Konan warned before quietly walking off.

"Itachi I don't like this, yeah. We should send him away before-" Deidara was interrupted by the crashing of doors and a sudden cold gust of wind blew out the candles and the fire in the room. Sakura's father gasped and pulled the blanket tightly around him. He shook, but not from the cold. He heard an angry growl and knew that he was in trouble.

"There is a stranger here." An evil sounding voice said.

"Oh, master, um allow me to explain, yeah. You see this guy here was lost and cold, so we figure we'd help him out, yeah, and as you can see-"

"Shut up Deidara!" The voice yelled. Deidara immediately was quiet. Then he pointed a wing at Itachi.

"It was his idea, yeah." He said quickly. Itachi simply stood there, staring at his master. Sakura's father looked to the right and then when he looked to the left he came face to face with some kind of blue beast. Sakura's father jumped out of the chair and stepped back.

"Who are you?! What are you doing here?!" The beast demanded stepping closer to Sakura's father.

"I-I was lost in the woods, and I-I…"

"You're not welcome here!" The beast exclaimed.

"I-I'm sorry." Sakura's father defended himself. Suddenly the master's face became a dark glare.

"What are you staring at?!" He demanded.

"N-nothing." Sakura's father replied.

"Oh, so you've come to stare at the beast?" The master asked angrily. Sakura's father tried to run but the beast quickly cut him off.

"P-please I meant no harm! I-I just needed a place to stay!" Sakura's father tried to explain.

"I'll give you a place to stay." The master said. He picked up Sakura's father by the scruff of his neck and dragged him out the door, up the stairs, and into the highest tower of his castle.

"Please, no, don't do this!" Sakura's father pleaded. The beast opened one of the cell doors and threw Sakura's father inside.

"Here, I hope you like it in there, because you're never leaving this place!" The beast yelled. He slammed the door, locked it, and headed back down the stairs. He went into his study and sat in his chair.

"Light another fire." He told his servants. The coat rack threw on a new log and started the fire. Itachi came into the room and sat near the chair.

"I screwed up again, didn't I?" The master asked.

"Yes I would say so." Itachi replied.

"I'm never breaking this curse. There's no way anyone could ever fall for a creature like me." The master said sighing.

"The curse will be broken master. We just need to be patient." Itachi said calmly.

"I have no patience left!" The master said slamming his hand on the arm of the chair. Itachi remained beside the chair, unafraid by the sudden outburst of anger. He waited until his master calmed down.

"I can't do it Itachi, I can't have you all depending on me to break this curse. You're all going to remain animals and objects and I, I will be doomed to remain a beast for all eternity." The master said sadly.

"You will break this curse master. And you won't break this curse for me, or Deidara, or Hidan, or anybody else. When you break this curse, it will be for you. Of all of us you are the one that has fallen into the deepest of darkness, and only you can fight your way back out. All you need to do is believe." Itachi stated. His master was silent for a moment. Finally he spoke again.

"Leave me Itachi, I need to be alone." He said.

Itachi bowed. "Yes master." And left the room, but not before hearing his master begin to cry out and curse himself for all their troubles. Itachi ran to the front door, opened it, and stood out in the night. The cold air of winter was quickly drawing in. Itachi looked up to the sky and saw the crescent moon shining behind the storm clouds as they passed overhead.

"Young lady, whoever you may be, I hope you come soon, to save not only us, but also my master, from the deep darkness he resides in." He said and sighed. He turned back around and entered the castle again. He went back into the master's study to see if he needed anything. Itachi was shocked to find his master asleep. His master hardly ever slept, especially anywhere outside his room in the west wing. Itachi jumped up and covered his master with a blanket. He was about to leave when he noticed something shining in the light of the fire. A single tear rolled down his master's cheek.

Itachi had seen his master experience many pains before, but nothing as serious as this. Yet there was nothing Itachi could do for his master. Itachi sighed feeling completely useless. He jumped up and sat on his master's shoulder.

He sighed again. "Do not fret my master. She is coming. And when she does, you'll never have to face this same pain again." And with that Itachi jumped down to the arm of the chair, curled up in a small, furry ball, and fell asleep beside his master.


	3. Chapter Two: The Beast

**Chapter Two**

**The Beast**

Sakura left Tsunade's house later that afternoon and made her way home. She entered her small cottage, immediately grabbed the book she had just gotten from the bookseller, settled down in a comfy chair, and began to read. She sighed as she turned the page. She did the same thing every day but coming home to read was always her favourite part. She smiled to herself and continued to read, not knowing that someone was planning on asking her something very soon.

"Gee Sasuke, do you think this is a good idea?" Naruto asked while they peeked out from behind some bushes in front of Sakura's house.

"Of course it is. Why wouldn't it be? Sakura will be my wife and this is the most opportune moment to ask." Sasuke replied confidently.

"Alright, but all I can say is, Sakura is definitely going to get the surprise of her life." Naruto said shaking his head.

"Exactly. Today is going to be the luckiest day of Sakura's life." Sasuke said. He let go of the bushes and walked back to a small gathering of some of the villagers. Ino and her two friends, as well as the baker, priest, a band, and a few others were all there. A make-shift chapel and decorations were set up around the small clearing. Everyone was busily preparing for what Sasuke meant to be his wedding to Sakura. Sasuke stepped forward and smiled.

"Well, thanks for coming to my wedding everyone. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go propose to the lucky girl." He said. The villagers laughed, Naruto rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, and Ino and her two friends burst into tears.

"Hey, Naruto, you know what to do when I come out the door with Sakura right?" Sasuke asked.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. I'm supposed to sit here and strike up the band." Naruto said holding up a conductor's wand. The band suddenly burst into the wedding march. Sasuke glared at Naruto.

"Not now you loser." He said.

"Alright, sorry." Naruto replied and lowered the wand. The band immediately stopped. Sasuke straightened up his shirt and walked to the front of the cottage.

Sakura looked up from her book as she heard three loud knocks coming from the front door. She gently placed the book on the kitchen table, making sure to keep her page, and went to the door. She pulled down a large device that her father had invented to see who was at the door. She looked into the large binoculars and saw none other than Sasuke standing on her porch waiting to be let in. Sakura sighed and rolled her eyes.

"If I ignore him, will he go away?" She asked herself, rolling the thought around in her mind. She looked back at the door and sighed.

"Fat chance." She said and slowly opened the door. Sasuke immediately came through without even waiting for Sakura to invite him in.

"Oh, Sasuke, what a surprise." Sakura said slowly backing away.

"I know. I'm full of surprises." He said looking around the cottage. He stepped further in and placed his hand on a small desk with a mirror on it and leaned towards Sakura.

"You know, there isn't a girl in town who wouldn't love to be in your shoes right now." He said with a coy smile.

"Oh really? And why might that be?" Sakura asked unimpressed.

"Well because, today is the day…" Sasuke paused as he caught his reflection in the mirror. He stared at himself and brushed some of his hair away from his face. A pointless move, Sakura noted, seen as his hair fell back into the exact same place anyway. Sasuke smiled at himself before turning back to Sakura.

"Anyway, today is the day when all your dreams come true." He finished. He stepped forward and Sakura moved back behind the kitchen table.

"Oh, and tell me Sasuke, because I'm very curious, what exactly do _you_ know about _my_ dreams?" She asked crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow.

"Plenty of course." Sasuke replied. He sat down in a chair and put his feet up on the table, over top of Sakura's book. Mud splashed everywhere. Sasuke leaned back and put his hands behind his head. _Strike one_, Sakura thought.

"Picture this, a rustic hunting lodge, my latest kill roasting over the fire," Sasuke slowly kicked off his boots, "and my little wife, massaging my feet." Sasuke said. Sakura plugged her nose disgusted. _Strike two_, she thought.

"Of course all this will be happening while the little ones play with the dogs. We will have six or seven after all." Sasuke said standing back up in front of Sakura.

"Six or seven dogs?" Sakura asked hopefully.

"No of course not. Six or seven strong young boys like me." Sasuke replied. Sakura rolled her eyes and picked her book up off the table. She quickly grabbed a cloth and began to wipe away the dirt. She walked over to her book shelf.

"And do you know who that little wife will be?" Sasuke asked following her. Sakura put the book back on the shelf.

"Well let me think…"

"You Sakura." Sasuke answered for her, putting his hands above her head. Sakura quickly darted to the side not wanting to be caught by this idiot.

"Sasuke, well, I truly don't know what to say." She pressed herself against the front door. Sasuke slowly walked over to her, pushing a chair out of his way. He pressed his hands against the door. Sakura's head was right in between them. She had nowhere to run to.

"Sasuke, I really don't think this is right, I mean I'm really not good enough for you." She said trying to be calm.

"Don't be ridiculous, you're perfect." Sasuke said. He slowly moved his face forward, preparing to kiss Sakura. Sakura glared at him. _Strike three, you're out_. She thought. She moved her hand to the doorknob of her cottage and quickly opened it. Se moved to the side as Sasuke fell out and into the small pond beside her house. She ran back into the kitchen, grabbed his boots, and threw them outside. Sakura then quickly closed the door and took in a deep breath.

Naruto did as he was told and started up the band not realizing that Sasuke was not only alone but had fallen into the pond. Naruto slowly turned around and was shocked to find Sasuke sitting in the water dripping wet with a sinister glare on his face. Naruto stopped the band and looked at Sasuke.

"So I'm guessing things didn't go so well?" Naruto asked sarcastically. Sasuke stood up and grabbed Naruto by the scruff of his neck.

"Sakura will be my mine, no matter what I have to do. She will be my wife." He said menacingly and threw Naruto into the water. Naruto sat up and coughed.

"Man, talk about touchy." He said shaking his hands. Sasuke stormed off wiping water from his face angrily. There was no way he was going to lose this game, especially when the prize was Sakura.

Sakura slowly opened the front door and looked outside.

"Is he gone?" She asked a few chickens who were sitting outside. The chickens just cocked their heads to the side. When she saw no sign of Sasuke she grabbed a bucket of chicken feed sitting on the ground and stomped down the stairs.

"Ugh I can't believe he had the nerve to come here! I can't believe he asked me to _marry_ him! Honestly, can you even imagine? Me and that idiotic, egotistical, brainless jerk as husband and wife?!" Sakura walked around to the side of the house where some goats and chickens were playing in their pen. She walked in with the chicken feed and placed it on a board lying on two barrels.

"Me, and Sasuke? Can you even begin to picture it?! I would never be that stupid idiot's 'little wife'! No, not me I can guarantee that!" Sakura finished feeding the animals, left the pen, and stormed off to her favourite spot near her house. It was a wide open clearing that led to a large cliff. It was her favourite spot because it was so quiet and calm, and the view was absolutely amazing. You could see the mountains stretching out to the horizon and a shining lake meandering through it. The leaves on the trees of the forest were changing colour and the scene was filled with the reds and pinks of the dying sun.

Sakura stopped near the edge of the cliff and sat in the soft grass. She picked up a white dandelion and delicately touched the soft seeds.

"I don't want to be some man's little wife. I want adventure in the great white…somewhere, I want that more than anything. And also, I think it might be nice, if there was someone out there who actually understood, that I don't want just what everyone has planned for me. Someone who actually understood _me_." Sakura said to herself. She sighed and let the seeds of the dandelion blow away in the wind. They danced playfully around each other, before disappearing into the distance. Sakura looked out towards the mountains and sighed.

"Who am I kidding? I'll never go on any adventures or anything like that. I could never leave papa, and there aren't that many men to choose from. Ugh, but that Sasuke, I can't stand him." Sakura said. She stared at the ground sadly. She looked up, however, as she heard a loud neigh come from behind her. She looked over to see Phillip running over to her. He looked terrified.

"Phillip? Phillip what are you doing here?" Sakura asked. Phillip neighed again and stopped beside her. Sakura looked and saw that the invention was still loaded onto the cart, but her father was nowhere to be found. Sakura felt her heartbeat quicken as she began to panic.

"Phillip where is papa? Where is he? Did something happen to him?" Sakura asked. Phillip just stared at her with terrified eyes. Sakura quickly unloaded the cart and jumped onto Phillip's back. She grabbed the reins and pulled trying to calm Phillip down.

"Phillip we have to find him. Something's wrong and I'm not going to stay here and be the damsel in distress. Come on Phillip take me to where papa is." Sakura rode Phillip to the cottage first. She grabbed her black cloak and threw it over her shoulders. She pulled the hood over her head and then ran back outside. She got on Phillip's back and snapped the reins.

"Let's go Phillip, we have to find him." She said and Phillip charged towards the path that her father had taken. Sakura didn't even look to the side of her as she passed by Tsunade who was coming to see how she was doing. Tsunade stared after Sakura, wondering what could possibly be wrong. She saw Sakura's panicked yet determined expression. Did something happen? Tsunade wondered what was wrong and decided it would be best to follow Sakura. She quickly ran back to her house, grabbed her own horse and raced after Sakura. She had already lost Sakura, but thankfully Phillip left large tracks to follow.

Phillip darted through fields and past farms. He took a turn up at a fork in the road and Sakura's heartbeat began to move even faster.

"I knew I should have come with him. He never could read that damn map properly." She cursed under her breath. Phillip continued to run until he came to another fork in the road in a dense forest. He turned and went right, through a very dark and mysterious part of the forest.

"Why would papa even consider coming down this road?" Sakura asked herself. Phillip continued forward until he finally brought Sakura to a large gate.

"What in the world?" Sakura asked. She looked through the fence and saw a large castle across a large stone bridge.

"What is this place?" She asked. Phillip neighed in fright and began to back away slightly panicked.

"Phillip please calm down. We need to find papa." Sakura patted Phillip's neck trying to calm him. Sakura jumped off of Phillip and grabbed hold of his reins. She patted his head and turned back to the gate. She gasped and ran through it to find her father's hat resting on the stone bridge.

"So papa is here. This is his hat. He must gave dropped it or something." She turned back to Phillip who was jerking his head around nervously.

"Phillip you stay here, I need to find papa." Sakura said and quickly ran across the bridge. Tsunade stopped just before the gate and her eyes grew wide. She knew this castle, knew it very well considering she hadn't been there in years.

"Oh Sakura, what have you gotten yourself into." Tsunade said. She stared sadly at the castle. She knew that there was nothing she could do. Sakura had to overcome this herself, and Tsunade couldn't step in no matter how much she wanted to.

"Please Sakura, be careful." Tsunade said, and rode back off into the forest.

Hidan paced angrily across the table in front of the others.

"You just couldn't keep fucking quiet could you Deidara? Just had to bring that fucking guy into the castle. And you, Itachi, you fucked up worse than Deidara did! Letting him sit in the master's fucking chair! His _chair_ Itachi!" He said angrily.

"Hey, he was cold and needed a place to stay, yeah. It's not my fault the master has issues." Deidara replied crossing his wings.

"I only did what I wanted." Itachi replied coolly.

"Yeah well look at the fucking amazing things that did! We are in deeper shit than ever before thanks to you guys and your fucking good Samaritans act." Hidan continued to pace.

"For once I have to agree with Hidan. I don't think I've ever seen the master so angry before." Konan said swishing her tail.

"I told you guys not to do it." Pein said while also pacing.

"Tobi's not mad at you. Tobi was just happy someone finally petted him." Tobi said his tongue hanging out of his mouth.

"You're always happy you stupid dog, yeah!" Deidara said angrily. Tobi's eyes grew wide and he whined.

"Deidara leave Tobi alone. We have bigger problems at the moment." Sasori stated.

"But he…fine, yeah." Deidara said pouting.

"So, what are we going to do?" Konan asked.

"Wait until someone comes to fetch the man." Itachi stated.

"Please who the fuck is going to come for that guy?" Hidan asked angrily.

"Someone will come." Itachi replied.

"There is no way in a million fucking years someon-"

"Papa?" Hidan was cut off as a girl's voice echoed through the castle. His face, as well as everyone else's (except Itachi's), fell. There was definitely someone in the castle looking for that man, and that someone was the girl they had been waiting for all those years.

Sakura had entered the gigantic castle without even thinking about who or what could be living in it. She practically ran through hallways and up stairs looking everywhere for any sign of her father. She had been searching for nearly ten minutes and still she hadn't found anything.

"Where could he be?" She asked herself. She continued down one hallway while Itachi and the others followed behind her.

"Papa?" She called.

"It's a girl, yeah!" Deidara said shocked.

"No shit Sherlock. I can't fucking believe she's really here for that guy." Hidan said shocked.

"I told you someone would come." Itachi replied. Hidan just glared at him but didn't argue back.

"Well what are we going to do, yeah? If the master finds her he'll be even more pissed off than before." Deidara stated.

"We'll help her find her father." Itachi said and ran forward.

"Itachi, wait, yeah!" Deidara said but he flew after him anyway.

"Those two are fucking insane." Hidan said.

"True, but if we help her get her father out of the castle, we'll be rid of both of them and the master never has to know about her even being here." Konan said with a sly smile. She followed behind the other two.

"I'm staying out of this one too." Pein said and slowly marched off. Sasori followed seen as he couldn't be bothered with the girl, Hidan decided to follow Itachi, Deidara and Konan anyway, and Tobi had already gotten bored with the conversation before and had left to find something to play with.

Sakura continued down the hallway and past a large wooden door. She was going to continue on when she suddenly heard a loud creaking noise.

"Papa?" Sakura asked turning around. She walked into the room. Konan, Deidara, Itachi, and Hidan hid behind the door as she came through.

"Is someone here?" Sakura asked. She looked forward to see a long, winding staircase.

"These stairs probably lead into the tower I saw outside." Sakura said to herself. She immediately began to climb the staircase. Hidan, Konan, Deidara, and Itachi quickly followed behind, trying to remain hidden. Sakura went up the stairs hoping it would lead her to her father.

"Is anyone here?" She called, continuing up the stairs. She climbed higher and finally came to the top. There were piles of hay scattered around the stone hall, with four wooden doors along the side of the north wall. There were large and thick iron bars covering any open holes in the doors.

"Hello?" Sakura asked.

"Sakura, Sakura is that you?" A man's voice sounded out. Sakura's heart skipped a beat as she recognized it as her father's. She grabbed a torch near the opening to the large hall and ran to the first door. She found her father reaching his hands out to her. She took his hands in her own and stared into the bars.

"How did you find me?" Her father asked. He was shivering and his hands were freezing cold.

"Oh your hands are like ice. I need to find a way to get you out of here." Sakura said looking around.

"No Sakura I want you to leave this place now. It's not safe here." Her father warned.

"Not until I find out who did this to you." Sakura said angrily.

"No, there's no time to explain anything, you need to go, now!" Her father said shaking his head. He coughed a few times and Sakura's face fell.

"I'm not going to leave you here to rot away in this damn prison." Sakura said squeezing her father's hands. She suddenly tensed as something grabbed her shoulder and threw her to the side.

"What are you doing here?!" A deep voice asked. The torch Sakura had fell into a small puddle of water, immediately going out. The room was dark and Sakura could hardly see.

"Sakura hurry and get out of here!" Her father demanded.

"Oh shit this is going to end badly." Hidan whispered to the others.

"Itachi shouldn't we stop this, yeah?" Deidara asked looking at Itachi. Konan looked at Itachi too but remained silent.

Itachi stared forward. "No, just wait and watch." He said calmly without even looking at the others. Konan, Hidan, and Deidara stared forward. Deidara's face fell and he shivered slightly. Hidan kept shaking his head, but Konan turned back to look at Itachi, wondering just what it was Itachi was planning.

"Who's there? Who are you?" Sakura asked looking around the room for a hint of movement. Moonlight was shining into the room, but it wasn't enough to see clearly.

"I am the master of this castle." The voice replied. Sakura noticed a hint of movement in the dark. Whoever this master was had moved to the right of her. She turned and stared into the darkness. She slowly stood prepared to stand her ground.

"I've come here for my father. You need to let him go. He's sick and needs help." Sakura stated.

"Then he shouldn't have trespassed in the first place!" The voice yelled back.

"But he'll die if he doesn't get out. I'll do anything, just let him out!" Sakura demanded holding her hand up to her chest.

"There is nothing you can do. He's my prisoner here and will remain so until the day he dies." The voice replied moving in front of Sakura, but he still remained shrouded in darkness.

"But there has to be something I could do. Something…" Sakura paused as an idea came over her. She immediately reached out into the darkness.

"Wait." She said when her hand touched only air. Even though she couldn't see him, she could feel someone's eyes turn to her. She looked to the side wondering if she could really go through with this idea. She looked back up when she realized this was the only way she could save her father.

"Take me instead." She said pointing to herself.

"You…you would really take his place?" The voice asked surprisingly softly.

"No Sakura you can't!" Her father pleaded. Sakura ignored her father and continued on.

"If I did, would you release my father?" She asked.

"Yes, but you must promise to stay here forever." The voice said. Sakura slowly looked down. What was she going to do? If she stayed here her father would be free but she would lose her own freedom and dreams, but if she refused then her father would die. Sakura knew what she had to do, but there was something she needed to know first. She squinted, trying to see if she could even make out the voice's figure. However, it was too dark to do even that.

"Come into the light." Sakura said. She watched as a foot slowly shifted into the light, followed by a leg, and then a body. Sakura looked up as she came face-to-face with a hideous beast. His eyes were small and round, his pupils black, his skin was an odd shade of blue, and he had gills on his cheeks. He wore a simple white shirt, black pants, and his hair was blue and spiked straight up. Sakura gasped at the sight of him and stepped backwards. Her father reached out to her.

"No Sakura you don't know what you're doing." He said. Sakura took in a deep breath and slowly walked towards the creature. She closed her eyes and nodded.

"You have my word." She said. The creature quickly walked by her.

"Done." He said and continued towards her father's cell. Sakura clenched her fifst at her sides trying desperately not to cry. She looked up as she felt two cold hands on her shoulders.

"Listen to me Sakura, don't do this! I'm old, I've lived my life." Her father tried to reason with her. Sakura grabbed his hands just as the beast suddenly grabbed her father's cloak and pulled him away.

"Wait." Sakura demanded.

"Sakura!" Her father said as the beast dragged him away.

"Wait!" Sakura yelled, but the beast ignored her. He ran down the tower steps, through the castle, and outside, all the while still dragging Sakura's father behind him.

"No, please spare my daughter! Please!" Her father begged.

"She is none of your concern now." The beast replied throwing Sakura's father into a carriage.

"Take him to the village." He said and then stormed back up to the castle. The carriage suddenly stood up on its own and began to walk away from the castle.

"No, wait, stop!" Sakura's father demanded, but his cries fell on deaf ears. Sakura ran into the cell that now belonged to her and stared out the window. She watched as the carriage pulled him away from her. Tears filled her eyes and fell down her cheeks. She slid to the cell floor and pulled her knees up to her chest. She buried her face in her knees and the tears fell down her face as she said good-bye to all her dreams, her father, and her freedom.

Kisame came back up the tower stairs and found Hidan, Konan, Deidara, and Itachi coming down them. Konan and Hidan ran faster down the stairs not wanting to get in Kisame's way, but Itachi and Deidara stopped and went up to a small opening in the wall.

"Master." Itachi said. Kisame stopped and stared at the weasel and the canary.

"What?" Kisame asked angrily.

"Well master, me and, uh, Itachi were talking, yeah, and we think it might be a, uh, good idea to let the girl have a more comfortable room." Deidara explained slowly shifting behind Itachi.

"Yes, seen as she will now be staying with us much longer than first expected." Itachi continued. He stared at Kisame and Kisame stared back. Kisame glared at the both of them and continued up the stairs. Kisame walked into the cell to find the girl sitting on the floor, crying.

"You didn't even let me say good-bye! I'll never see him again!" She said through sobs. A wave of sympathy rushed over him and Kisame put his hand on his neck and rubbed the side of it.

"I'll…show you to your room." He said, turning towards the door.

Sakura looked up. "My room? But I thought…" She said confused. Kisame turned to her and looked around the cell.

"Do you want to stay locked up in the tower?" He asked impatiently.

"Well, no." Sakura replied.

"Then follow me." Kisame said turning to leave. Sakura quickly stood up and followed not wanting to be left behind. Itachi jumped up on Kisame's shoulder as he passed and Deidara flew behind them. Sakura looked at the animals confused then guessed they must be the beast's pets. Kisame walked down the tower steps and began leading Sakura to her room. The walk was silent and neither of them said anything to each other. The beast turned down one hallway and Sakura saw that it seemed to go on forever.

Sakura began looking around the hallway. It was dark and there were carvings of dragons and other frightful creatures on the walls, as well as odd statues that looked like gargoyles and demons. Sakura stopped to stare at some of them but quickly ran forward as she began to scare herself with ideas of what might happen if she got lost alone in the castle.

The beast turned to look at her and saw her wipe a few tears off her face. He looked back forward feeling guilty for what he had done.

"Say something to her." Itachi whispered into Kisame's ear. Kisame looked at Itachi and then at Deidara who was now flying beside him. Deidara nodded that it was a good idea.

"I, uh, hope you like it here." He said glancing back at Sakura. He looked back forward. Itachi nodded telling him to try to say a bit more. Kisame nodded and glanced back again.

"The castle is your home now so you can feel free to go anywhere you like, except the west wing." He told her.

"What's in the west wi-"

"It's forbidden." Kisame suddenly yelled turning on Sakura. His voice echoed through the large halls of the castle. Sakura put her hands up to protect herself. Kisame just stared at her and then continued forward with Sakura trailing behind him. Finally they reached a door at the end of the hall. Kisame opened the door for her and Sakura walked in.

"Now if you need anything, my servants will attend to you." He explained as she entered the room.

"Invite her to dinner." Itachi whispered. Kisame glanced around and stood straight up.

"You will…join me for dinner. That's not a request!" He yelled and slammed the door. Sakura turned quickly around and slowly backed up. She continued to back away from the door until her legs hit the bed. She sat down and slowly looked around the room. She had to admit, it was a beautiful room. There was a vanity on the wall across from the end of the bed with a large mirror and a small seat. The bed itself sat in the middle of the room against the east wall. It was a canopy bed with a red rose carved into each post. A sheet of translucent magenta material fell from the top of the bed over the posts. The sheets were a light blue, the backboard was an aqua and weaved into fancy swirls and shapes, and the pillows were all purple, aqua, and blue. To the right of the bed was an armoire and sitting near the window was a long cushion sitting on a stand and it had a large, cylindrical pillow on the end of it. The room itself was white with a light blue design that went a quarter of the way up the wall. It was a magnificent room, perfect for a spoiled princess, Sakura thought coldly.

Sakura slowly slid back until her back came into contact with the backboard. She pulled her knees up to her chest and rested her chin on them. She took one last look around the room and then stared out the window to the left of the bed.

"It's snowing." She whispered to herself, and it was true. The first flakes of winter had just begun to fall, and here she was trapped in this God forsaken castle by a cruel and hideous beast. Sakura felt new tears begin to form at the corners of her eyes and she bit her lip. Sakura hated crying, but this time she just couldn't help herself. Slowly the tears began to fall, silently at first, but then Sakura began to sniff, and then she began to sob as the tears she shed fell to the covers of the bed and disappeared, along with all her dreams, her father, and her freedom.

Kisame walked back down the hallway with Itachi and Deidara still in tow.

"Well, that went better than I thought, yeah." Deidara said.

"Now we just need to prepare dinner." Itachi agreed. Kisame just continued walking and didn't say a word. He glanced back at the door to the girl's room. He turned to walk look forward again.

"The girl's name, it's Sakura isn't it?" He asked.

"Well her father said it enough times in the tower so that has to be it, yeah." Deidara replied.

"I see…it suits her." Kisame muttered under his breath, a smile beginning to form on his lips.

"You think so?" Itachi asked. Kisame looked at him and turned away as he felt his face turn red.

"I just meant it suits her because her hair is pink is all." He defended. Itachi looked at Deidara and Deidara threw Itachi a coy smile. Perhaps this was going to go a lot better than they first thought. Itachi jumped back down to the floor and Deidara landed beside him.

"If you'll excuse us master, we have a dinner to prepare." Itachi said bowing.

"We'll tell you when it's ready, yeah." Deidara bowed as well and the two animals quickly left Kisame to go and gather everyone to help make dinner. Kisame continued down the hallway glancing around his castle. He had never noticed how dark and menacing it had become. Probably because he spent so much time locked up in his room he never bothered to pay attention to it. He continued down the hall just thinking to himself.

"That girl, there's something about her…" He said to himself, "but I don't know what it is. Maybe it's just because she might be the one, but it feels like something more than that." Kisame turned around again and looked down the dark hallway. He couldn't see the door anymore but he knew it was there, and he wondered what Sakura might be doing. Kisame suddenly shook his head trying to erase all interest.

"Who am I kidding? I'm a beast, she is my prisoner. There's no way she could ever even consider me more than just a hideous beast." He said sadly. He sighed and continued down the hall to the stairs. He walked down them and headed for the dining hall. All that was left to do now was sit and wait for the girl to join him.

The cold air blew the snowflakes around the village as people made their way home to their warm homes. Sasuke sat in his chair made of the fur of the animals he had killed. He was leaning forward with his fingers intertwined together. He had his hands in front of his face covering his mouth. It was the way he always sat when he was brooding.

"So Sasuke, how's the brooding going?" Naruto asked walking over with two pitchers of beer.

"Who does that girl think she is? She is messing with the wrong guy. Nobody says no to Sasuke." He replied angrily staring into the fire burning before him.

"So it's going." Naruto said. He handed one beer to Sasuke and Sasuke instead took both and threw them into the fire.

"I was dismissed, rejected, publicly humiliated all in one go. Ugh, this is pissing me off." Sasuke said turning his chair away from Naruto.

"Oh, well do you want more beer? Considering you also threw mine in the fire too." Naruto whispered the last part under his breath.

"What for? Nothing helps. Let's face it, I'm disgraced." Sasuke replied.

"Drinking your problems away always seems to help." Naruto replied.

"What?" Sasuke asked angrily.

"Oh, I mean, uh, come on Sasuke, you could never be disgraced, I mean, it's you…and you're so…awesome…and great…and stuff." Naruto said looking around the room awkwardly. Sasuke stared at him unimpressed and turned his chair around again so his back now faced the fire. He put his chin in his hand and glared angrily around the room.

"Come on Sasuke, pull yourself together. If you're really as great as you say you are then one little rejection shouldn't have you all depressed like this." Naruto said crossing his arms. Sasuke looked at him but continued to ignore him. Naruto walked up to him and stared him straight in the face.

"You know it really annoys me when you're like this. You're so great and just because one little girl dumps you, albeit she was pretty gorgeous, you're doing nothing but sobbing in a corner. If you ask me, you're the loser here." Sasuke glared at Naruto and suddenly punched him in the face. Naruto flew back and landed on a table near by. He sat up and wiped a small trickle of blood from his lip.

"Now that's the Sasuke I know. I mean look around you! Every guy here wants to be with you and every girl wants to be with you! Isn't that right everyone?" Naruto asked. The men all nodded in agreement.

"Hell yeah!" Ino suddenly burst out. Everyone stared at her and she slowly sunk down to hide behind her friends.

"Uh, yeah, and no one in town is as admired as you, you're everyone's favourite guy! Even when you've been rejected, and beat down, and humiliated, and ignored, and…"

"I think I get it." Sasuke interrupted Naruto angrily.

"Well anyway, you shouldn't look at this the wrong way. I mean it's not hard to see why everyone likes you." Ino and her friends snuck over listening to what Naruto was saying.

"Alright girls, now's our chance." Ino whispered to them and all three of them quickly surrounded Sasuke. Ino sat on the floor by his legs, one of her friends sat on the floor hanging off his arm, and the other one grabbed onto his shoulder. They all sighed.

"You're amazing Sasuke." Ino said.

"The best man in this whole village." One of Ino's friends agreed.

"No one can even compare." The other friend added.

"See, no one is as good as you at anything. No one can shoot like you, or is as slick as you, or is half as…manly as you." Naruto said trying to cheer Sasuke up. Naruto wasn't doing this to be nice, he just knew the happier Sasuke was the better it would be for him.

"Yeah, I guess I am pretty intimidating." Sasuke said looking rather pleased to be so complimented.

"Yeah Sasuke, no one fights like you, or can win a wrestling match quite like you can." One of the villagers said.

"And let's face it, no man in this town is as burly or brawny." Ino and her friends said. Sasuke smirked and flexed his biceps. Ino and her friends' jaws dropped and they sighed.

"See Sasuke, there's no reason for you to be all depressed. You've got so many people here who think you're awesome, so why should you be all upset over one girl?" Naruto asked. Sasuke opened his mouth to answer when Sakura's father suddenly burst through the tavern door.

"Help, somebody please help!" He yelled.

"Isn't that Sakura's father?" The bartender asked. Everyone stared at him shocked. His eyes were black underneath and he looked completely terrified.

"Please, somebody please, I need your help! He-he's got her! He's got her locked in the dungeon!" Sakura's father grabbed people's shirts and shook them demanding they help him.

"Who?" One of the villager's Sakura's father was begging asked.

"Sakura! We have to go now! We don't have any time to waste!" He explained.

"Whoa, hold up there old man. Who's got Sakura locked in the dungeon?" Sasuke asked.

"A beast! A horrible, monstrous, hideous beast!" Sakura's father burst out. The tavern fell silent, and then everyone burst into fits of laughter.

"Is it a big beast?" One of the villager's asked.

"It's huge, enormous even!" Sakura's father replied.

"With a hideous face?" Another asked.

"Disgusting!" Sakura's father explained.

"And sharp teeth? One's that could rip your skin right off?"

"Yes, razor sharp! Will you help me?" Sakura's father asked. Some of the villagers pushed him over and he fell in front of Sasuke.

"Alright old man, we'll help you out." He said with a cruel smile.

"You will?" Sakura's father asked. He looked up with a large smile across his face. Sasuke just smiled evilly at him. He nodded his head and two of the villager's picked Sakura's father up from the ground.

"Oh thank you, thank you, thank you!" Sakura's father said. Suddenly the men that had been carrying him threw him out the door. Sakura's father landed face first into a pile of cold snow. He sat back up and stared at the men walked back into the tavern.

"Will no one help me?" He asked sadly and slowly made his way home. The villager's continued to laugh as they came back into the tavern wiping their hands.

"Sakura's father is always good for a laugh."

"Tell me about it, crazy old man." They laughed. Sasuke stared after the villagers and rested his chin on his thumb and put his forefinger on his chin thinking.

"Naruto, I've been thinking."

"Oh really? Isn't that a dangerous past time for you?" Naruto asked sarcastically. Sasuke ignored him and continued to think.

"That crazy old man is Sakura's father. Everyone in town knows that he isn't exactly the sanest of people. Looking at that crazy old guy has inspired me. I promised myself I was going to marry Sakura, and I think I just discovered the perfect plan to make that happen." Sasuke said. He smiled evilly at Naruto.

"Seriously? _You_ came up with a plan?" Naruto asked shocked.

"Yes I did. Now here's what we do." Sasuke said and began whispering something into Naruto's ear. Naruto's face changed from awe, to shock, to interest, and then he smiled.

"Wow, I can't believe you came up with all that." He finally said.

"Shut up, you loser. Now are you going to help me or not?" Sasuke asked. Naruto thought about it for a moment and then shrugged his shoulders.

"I have nothing better to do." He replied.

"Excellent. Now all we need to do is organize the rest of it and let all the pieces fall into place." Sasuke said.

"Yeah, that's great. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm thirsty. Hey barkeep, pass down another pitcher!" Naruto yelled walking over to the bartender. Sasuke rolled his eyes and walked over to the window of the tavern. He looked outside. The snow was still falling and blowing heavily in the wind. He rested his chin in his hand and smiled. His plan was fool-proof, there was no way it could go wrong. All he needed to do was have each of his pawns play their part properly, and then he could take the prize.

"Sakura will be my wife, no matter what I have to do to get what I want. This is the hardest game I've ever had to play, but if Sakura is the prize, then I'll do whatever it takes to win and take Sakura as my next trophy."


	4. Chapter Three: The Dinner

**Chapter Three**

**The Dinner**

Sakura had been sitting on the bed for at least half an hour she was sure. Her eyes were swollen and red from crying, but her tears had dried up ten minutes ago. Now she just sat on the bed, her head resting on her knees, staring at the light blue sheets. She looked up as she suddenly heard a knock at the door.

"W-who is it?" She asked her voice cracking.

"It's granny Chiyo, now open up don't keep me waiting out here all night." Sakura slowly got off the bed and walked over to the tall doors to the – her – room. She opened it and looked out. She didn't see any old woman like she had expected.

"Hello?" Sakura asked confused.

"Well step aside or else I can't get through." Sakura jumped and looked down to see a teapot bounce into the room. The teapot had a drawn face and had small cracks in it.

"Uh, wait, who…?" Sakura stuttered confused.

"If you have something to say, girl, say it. Don't just stand there like a blubbering idiot." Sakura quickly nodded shocked.

"I'm sorry, I just wasn't expecting a…a…"

"Teapot?" Sakura jumped again as a voice sounded out behind her. She turned to see the armoire smiling down at her.

"Hey there nice to meet you. My name is Tenten the armoire, as you can clearly see." Tenten smiled. Now that Sakura looked more closely she realized that the armoire did have almost human-like qualities, besides being able to talk and move. The armoire was navy blue and pink. The top wood-work was brown and had two ovals that looked almost like hair buns. Her eyes were brown and she sounded very kind but strong.

"Um, my name is Sakura." Sakura replied. She moved back and sat on the bed. Her head was spinning. A few hours ago she was kicking Sasuke out of her house, now here she was trapped in a castle, with talking animals and household objects!

"Well, would you like some tea?" Granny Chiyo suddenly asked.

"Um, yes please that would be nice." Sakura sighed and slid to the floor so she could be closer to granny Chiyo. Tea was exactly what she needed to keep herself calm.

"Wait one second, where are those ungrateful brats… Get in here now!" Granny Chiyo suddenly yelled. Sakura looked to the door. It slid open but nothing walked in.

Granny Chiyo sighed. "Here we go…"

"Ok, ready, one, two, three!" Sakura heard a small voice. Suddenly three small teacups jumped out from the door and landed near Sakura.

"Right hand, Moegi!" A small teacup with black eyes, eyelashes, and red cheeks said.

"Left hand, Udon!" Another small teacup said. He sniffed as a small drip of snot fell down his nose. He had glasses and black eyes as well.

"And center, Konohamaru!" A third teacup said. He had black eyes and was missing a tooth. Sakura smiled, they were adorable.

"And together, we are this castle's one and only Teacup Trio!" Konohamaru said happily. Sakura giggled and smiled brightly. This was the first time someone had cheered her up since coming to this castle. Konohamaru and Udon's faces suddenly changed to a slight red tinge. Sakura smiled.

"Wow, granny Chiyo she's so pretty." Konohamaru whispered to the teapot.

"Yes, now come along the girl would like some tea." Granny Chiyo said. Konohamaru immediately jumped forward.

"Me, me, me!" He said happily. Sakura smiled at the little teacup. Granny Chiyo rolled her eyes but poured some hot tea into Konohamaru. Konohamaru eagerly bounced over.

"Careful! If you spill a single drop you'll pay for it later." Granny Chiyo warned. Konohamaru immediately stopped and bounced as slowly as he could over to Sakura. When he was at her legs Sakura reached out and picked Konohamaru up. She sipped some tea and then rested Konohamaru gently on her hand. Konohamaru's face was a brighter red. Sakura smiled and then looked around the room.

"So, does everything in this house, you know, talk?" Sakura asked.

"Pretty much, except the castle itself of course." Tenten explained.

"But, that's not possible." Sakura muttered taking another sip of tea from Konohamaru.

"Oh we know, but here we are, talking objects and animals all together in one huge castle. It seems like a horrible fate but we're managing. I still have fun, even though I'm ten times the size I used to be, can't fit through that door, and am pretty much only here to hold clothes. But I still have fun." She said with a bright smile. Sakura nodded and took another sip of tea.

"That was a really stupid thing you did back there." Granny Chiyo suddenly said. Tenten stared at her shocked.

"What are you talking about?! That was the bravest thing I have ever seen, and not just me, everyone in the castle thinks so!" She defended.

"'Brave'? I'm not brave at all. I just gave up all my dreams, my father, my freedom, and now look at me. I'm trapped in this castle." Sakura said sadly. Konohamaru, Moegi, and Udon stared up at her with sympathy. Sakura suddenly yelped as she felt boiling hot tea fall on her leg. She jumped up and tried to wipe it off.

"What was that for?!" She yelled at Granny Chiyo.

"Listen to you, whining like a child. If you want to stand up to anyone in this castle you're going to have to have a bigger backbone than that!" Granny Chiyo scolded. Sakura glared at her and then sighed.

"I guess you're right. That stubborn, short-tempered beast isn't going down without a fight, and neither will I." Sakura said suddenly determined. "First things first, however, I need to fix this burn you just gave me." Sakura cocked an eyebrow at Granny Chiyo. Granny Chiyo looked away and Sakura rolled her eyes.

"How you gonna fix it?" Konohamaru asked.

"Well, here I'll show you." Sakura said. She picked up the little teacups and placed them gently on the bed beside her. She lifted her burnt leg and found the red mark still throbbing from the hot tea. She placed a hand over the red area and closed her eyes. She focused her energy into her hand just as Tsunade had taught her. She then muttered a small incantation that weaved the energy together to get the affect she desired. When Sakura opened her eyes there was a light emerald green light emitting from her hand. Immediately the pain and burn slowly faded away leaving a cool tingling in its place.

"And that's how I do it." Sakura said smiling brightly. Granny Chiyo, Konohamaru, Moegi, Udon, and Tenten's mouths were open and their eyes were wide.

"Y-you're an enchantress?" Tenten asked shocked.

"Oh, well I wouldn't really say 'enchantress'. I'm just an apprentice really. I want to be an enchantress one day but for now I just have to keep practicing." Sakura said smiling. All the objects looked at each other and their faces grew dark. Sakura looked at them confused.

"I'm sorry, did I do something wrong?" They all suddenly turned back to her and smiled awkwardly.

"Oh of course not. We're just not used to having enchantress' around here." Tenten said laughing.

"O-oh, ok." Sakura said slowly tilting her head to the side. Granny Chiyo looked at Sakura and then turned back to the small teacups.

"Alright, Konohamaru, Moegi, Udon, let's go, we have a dinner to prepare."

"Do we have to?" Konohamaru whined.

"I said let's go." Granny Chiyo turned to Konohamaru, an evil glint in her eye. Konohamaru, Udon, Moegi and Sakura shivered. Sakura lifted the teacups off the bed and they quickly jumped from Sakura's hand. They hopped over to Granny Chiyo and followed her out of the room

"Bye!" The three small teacups called before they left the room. Sakura smiled at them.

"They sure are cute aren't they?" Tenten said happily.

"Yeah they are." Sakura replied.

"Well, like that they are, they can be really annoying at times, especially when they get up to their pranks." Tenten sighed. Sakura laughed. Tenten laughed along with her and then straightened up.

"Well then we need to choose something nice for you to wear for dinner. Let me see what I have here." Tenten opened her doors and many moths suddenly flew out. Tenten quickly closed her doors and blushed.

"Sorry, I, uh, haven't been opened in awhile, so, um…oh jeez how embarrassing." Tenten shook her head. Sakura smiled as Tenten regained her composure.

"Well then let's try this again." Tenten again opened her doors, more slowly this time, and no moths flew out. She sighed in relief and smiled brightly.

"Oh, how about this one, it would suit you perfectly!" Tenten pulled out a red and pink dress. Sakura looked over it. It was a very pretty dress. Much more extravagant than she was used to, but then again she had lived a simple village girl all her life. Sakura touched the soft fabric of the dress. The hem was lined with pale pink silk lace and the sleeves themselves would rest comfortably on her shoulders and fall to her elbows. It was beautiful, and Sakura was very tempted to wear it but knew she couldn't. She needed to remember her pride.

"That is very nice of you. The dress is very beautiful, but I'm not going to dinner." Sakura replied politely rejecting the dress, and at the same time the Master's invite to dinner. Tenten's face immediately filled with shock.

"W-what do you mean you're not going?! You have to go! The Master ordered it!" Tenten said completely dumbfounded. Sakura crossed her arms.

"And that's exactly why I'm not going. If that beast you call a Master wants _me_ to come down to eat dinner with _him_, _he_ is going to have to _invite_ me, not _order_ me. If he wants any respect from me he's going to have to earn it." Sakura finished defiantly. She sat down on her bed in a huff pouting angrily. She softened as the door opened and Deidara and Hidan walked in.

"Hello, Sakura, was it? I am Deidara the golden eagle of this castle. It is a pleasure to meet you, yeah." Sakura looked at the small, yellow bird sitting in front of her door. Suddenly the bird jumped up and flew straight at her. It stopped only inches from her face. The little bird's eyes were an amazing light blue that Sakura had never seen on a bird before, and tufts of feathers fell over its left eye.

"Oh, I recognize you. You're that little bird who was following that beast." Sakura said shocked.

"Ah, well, um, yes that was me. I am loyal to my master, yeah." Deidara replied. Sakura smiled, lifted a small finger and lightly patted the little bird's head. She then put her hand under Deidara and he landed softly on her palm.

"And you're very cute as well." She said smiling. Deidara's face beamed and he stumbled trying to find his composure again.

"Oh for fuck's sake." Both Deidara and Sakura turned to see the little rat that was still standing by the door.

"Why the fuck do you keep calling yourself a fucking golden eagle?! You're a fucking canary, seriously." Sakura was surprised to see the little rat was standing on two legs and his arms were crossed.

"Because I am a golden eagle! Just because you're too boorish and disgraceful to understand the beauty and majesty that is me, yeah." Deidara replied angrily.

"Hey who the fuck do you think you are?! I'll kick your ass you stupid fucking canary, seriously." The rat snarled.

"Hey, come one, don't fight." Sakura said trying to calm the two animals.

"Hey, bitch, stay the fuck out of this got it? We didn't fucking need you before, why the fuck would we need you now? Seriously." The rat stated. Sakura stared at the rat and glared at him.

"Hey, rat, watch it. Don't think just because you live here doesn't mean I won't throw you out the tower windows." Sakura spat. Suddenly the rat turned to her.

"Bitch please, don't think just because you're a fucking chick I won't fucking claw your eyes out." The rat spat back.

Sakura smirked. "If you can reach that high maybe." The rat suddenly tensed and waved a fist at Sakura.

"What the fuck did you just say bitch?! I dare you to say that to my fucking face! I will kick the shit out of you, you fucking bitch!" He yelled. Sakura had to control herself to keep from laughing. A _rat_ was threatening to beat her up. It also didn't help that his small stature made all his yells sound like little squeaks to her. Suddenly Deidara jumped up and flew over to the rat.

"Now, now Hidan you need to calm down, yeah. I don't think Master would be very happy if he found out you were threatening his guest." Deidara said shaking his wings in defense. The rat, Hidan, stared at Sakura for a moment then turned angrily.

"Fine. Fighting this bitch would be a fucking waste of my time anyway, seriously. You can fucking tell her why we're here now." He scoffed and scampered out the door.

"What's his problem?" Sakura asked.

"Oh, he's just stressed because we're not used to having so much happen in so little time, yeah." Deidara explained.

"Fuck you Deidara." Hidan spat.

"Oh is that it. So why are you here anyway? Was it just to introduce yourselves or are you here for something else?" Sakura asked. Suddenly Deidara jumped up and flew back over to her.

"Oh yes I almost forgot. We've come to announce that dinner is ready and we are going to escort you to the dining room, yeah." Deidara replied pointing a wing to the door.

"Oh, um, that's very sweet of you, but, um, can you tell your Master, that I'm not coming to dinner." Suddenly both Deidara and Hidan tensed and Deidara almost fell out of the air.

"What?! But you have to go, yeah, the Master ordered you to!" Deidara pointed out.

"Yes, I know, and that's why I'm not going. If he wants me to come then he's going to have to ask me nicely on his own. Unless he does that I'm not moving from this room." Sakura replied crossing her arms.

"Holy shit this bitch actually has some balls after all, seriously." Hidan said and Sakura was surprised at how impressed he sounded.

"Look, if you don't come to dinner then we're all going to get into trouble, yeah." Deidara said sounding scared.

"I'm sorry, but I just can't do it. I'd probably end up stomping out of there anyway. So please let him know I'm not coming." Sakura apologized and stared down sadly at Deidara. Suddenly Deidara and Sakura turned to Hidan who had suddenly burst into laughter.

"Holy shit this is fucking hilarious. Oh Deidara you are royally fucked! Master is going to fucking freak out when he finds out she's not fucking coming!" He spat out through fits of laughter.

"I don't get why you're laughing, you're coming with me to tell him, yeah." Deidara said coldly. Suddenly Hidan stopped laughing and stared at Deidara.

"Fuck that you can fucking tell him." He replied. Suddenly Deidara darted over to Hidan and before Hidan could even move Deidara lifted him into the air.

"Deidara you fucking bastard put me back on the fucking ground!" Hidan screamed angrily. Sakura watched as the yellow canary fought to hang on to the angry white rat. Finally the rat gave up and just hung loosely in the air.

"I fucking hate you Deidara, seriously." The rat said through pants.

"Likewise." The canary replied. Deidara turned back to Sakura and slowly bowed his head.

"We'll let Master know you're not coming. I have a feeling he's going to be pretty upset though." He muttered to himself.

"Fuck that he's going to be fucking pissed Deidara! And because you have to be so fucking noble Master is going to fuck us up and it's going to be all your fucking fault! I fucking hate you, you fucking piece of shit fucking canary, fuck!" Hidan growled angrily trying to struggle free again. When he couldn't he fell limp and for the first time since the two animals arrived he fell silent.

"Anyway I think we've disturbed you enough, yeah, have a good night Sakura." Deidara said softly.

"Yeah, go fuck yourself bitch." Hidan added, and Deidara swooped out of the room. Sakura watched as the two animals left. She felt bad having them take the blame because of her own decisions, but she still had her pride to consider. No matter what anyone said, no matter what they did, she would _not_ go to dinner with that beast until he had the decency to ask her properly. With that last thought in mind Sakura turned around and laid her head down on her pillows. She stayed there quietly, waiting for the storm.

* * *

Kisame paced back and forth in the dining room. Along the west wall there was a fireplace that covered half the length of the wall. A strong and warm fire was glowing in the hearth. It added a soft light and warmth to the room that would be cold and dark without it.

In the center of the room was a table that reached from one end of the room to the other and it was dark mahogany. It was adorned with a purple table cloth that had gold trimming and tassels. Three silver candlesticks were in the middle of the table and all along it ran rows of food and drink. It was a dinner fit for a king; or in this case a beast and his guest.

"What's taking so long? She should be down here by now I was up there awhile ago. Where is she?!" He demanded. Konan and Itachi looked at each other and then back at Kisame. He looked stressed, far more than usual. He was wearing a loose white shirt, black pants, and black boots. He looked rather handsome, or at least as handsome as a shark-man could get.

"Master you just need to be patient. She's lost both her father and her freedom and that is a lot to go through in one day." Konan stated calmly licking her paw. Itachi walked up to the edge of the fireplace where he and Konan had been sitting.

"Master, is it possible the thought of this girl being 'the one' has crossed your mind at all since she has joined us?" He asked as calmly as ever.

"Of course it has, do you think I'm an idiot?!" Kisame asked turning angrily on Itachi.

"No Master I don't. The fact you know this is good. She needs to fall in love with you, you need to fall in love with her, and then the curse will be broken. If this works it may be done by midnight." Itachi stated. Konan slowly shook her head eyeing Itachi with her large eyes.

"Unfortunately Itachi 'love' does not occur that easily. Things such as these take time to mould into something strong enough to break the spell." Konan's eyes shined.

"Unfortunately time is not something we have Konan. The rose has already started wilting." Itachi stated. Suddenly Kisame stopped pacing and his face fell.

"Ugh, it's no use. I can't do this. That girl, Sakura, she's…beautiful and I'm… Ugh just look at me! I detest everything I am, just like she will." He slowly sank to the floor and sighed sadly. Itachi and Konan jumped from the fireplace and landed beside him. Konan slowly placed a paw on Kisame's knee turning his attention to her.

"You have to help her see past what you are and see what you want her to see you as." She said softly.

"I don't know how." Kisame sighed. A small smile flicked across Konan's face. She jumped from the floor onto the closest chair and then onto the table. Kisame slowly stood and walked over to her curious as to what she was doing. Itachi climbed onto Kisame's shoulder and then jumped to join Konan.

"I believe, Master, you should start by making yourself more presentable. First, straighten up. You want her to see you as a true gentleman." Konan ordered. Kisame quickly bent his shoulders back and stood as straight as he could.

"Yes, and when she walks in it is polite to give her a sweet but mysterious smile. Let us see a smile." Itachi said. Kisame lifted his lips into a smile baring all teeth. Unfortunately his smile was more terrifying than mysterious.

"Um, perhaps the smile is something we can save for later." Konan suggested. Kisame's face fell.

"Yes, but a good idea is to make her laugh." Itachi suggested.

"Yes, but it's also a good idea to be gentle with her." Konan added.

"Shower her in compliments." Itachi continued.

"But always be sincere." Konan stated.

"But above all things…" Itachi began to say.

"You must control your temper." Both he and Konan finished simultaneously. Kisame stared at the both of them and shook his head obviously overloaded with the information. He put his hands behind his head and sighed angrily. He paced around the room again and finally stopped in front of the table.

"There's no way I can do this!" He said smacking his hands against the hardwood surface.

"Now, now master, if you want her to like her you must control yourself." Konan said walking over to Kisame and placing her paw on his right hand.

"Konan is correct you must calm yourself." Itachi agreed staring up at his master. Kisame looked down at his two servants. Guilt filled his heart as he realized if he couldn't do this, then they would be trapped the way they were, forever. He clenched his fists and took a deep breath.

"Alright, fine. I'll control my temper, as long as _she_ listens to me and does what I say. I'm still the Master of this castle and she is my captive so she will do what I say." Kisame said affirmatively. Itachi and Konan looked at each other and Konan sighed.

"This is going to take longer than expected." Itachi muttered.

"Yes, but the show is going to be very entertaining." Konan replied a small feline smirk crossing her mouth. Everyone suddenly turned as the doorknob of the dining room slowly turned. Itachi and Konan were shocked to see the excited expression that covered Kisame's face. For once he actually looked…happy.

"I guess she's here." Itachi said. He nodded to Konan and they both jumped off the table and hid from sight. The door slowly opened and…Hidan and Deidara came into the room. Kisame's face immediately fell.

"Um, evening, yeah. How is everyone?" Deidara asked laughing awkwardly.

"Deidara you god damn canary put me back on the fucking ground!" Hidan yelled. Deidara was still carrying the rat in his tiny claws.

"Alright I'll put you down, yeah." Deidara replied and released his grip on Hidan. Hidan fell about a foot and landed on his head. He fell forward and immediately grabbed his head.

"Deidara what the fuck?! That fucking hurt! God fucking damn it! Seriously!" Hidan screamed.

"You're heavy and my feet hurt. Besides I thought you liked pain, yeah?"

"That's not the fucking point! You fucking _dropped_ me! You fucking bastard!" Hidan said quickly standing and shaking his fists at Deidara.

"Considering you're a rat you have a very big mouth Hidan." Konan mewed walking over to the rat on the ground. Hidan turned and looked up at her. His small face fell and he looked away.

"Yeah well, fuck you." Hidan said crossing his arms.

"I don't think Pein would like to hear you talking to me like that." Konan said her eyes sparkling. Hidan looked at her again and was silent. It seemed the only thing that Hidan was afraid of besides the Master, was Pein.

"So where is she?" Kisame asked through clenched teeth.

"Where's who, yeah?" Deidara asked.

"The girl! Where's the girl?!" Kisame yelled obviously impatient.

"Oh, uh, right _that_ girl! I know who you mean now, yeah." Deidara laughed awkwardly.

"Deidara, there is only _one_ girl in this castle besides my servants who I would be asking for. So where is she?" Kisame demanded.

"Um, well, you see, uh, Hidan why don't you field this one, yeah?" Deidara said turning to Hidan.

"Go fuck yourself Deidara I told you I wasn't fucking telling him _anything_." Hidan replied angrily.

"Oh, damn it, that's right, yeah."

"Deidara I'm sick of your stalling where is she?" Kisame demanded once more.

"Well, you see, where are any of us really, yeah? We're all just dust in the wind and where we are now may not be where we are tomorrow, and because of that-"

"Deidara!" Kisame yelled. Deidara almost fell out of the air but managed to straighten himself. He flew over to Itachi and stood beside him.

"She's, uh, not coming, yeah." He whispered.

"Excuse me?" Kisame asked. Deidara cleared his throat.

"Well, she's…not…coming." Deidara said loud enough for everyone to hear. There was a long pause of silence. Everyone looked at everyone else just waiting for the boom. And it came.

"What?!" Kisame screamed loud enough that it echoed through the halls of the castle. He ran and slammed the dining room doors opened. Everyone knew exactly where he was going.

"I told you this was going to be fun." Konan said running beside Itachi. They had all decided to follow Kisame as he ran out of the room. Deidara was flying as fast as he could after them and Hidan was hanging on to Konan's tail trying not to fall or be left behind.

"I have a feeling this is only the beginning." Itachi replied keeping his eyes on Kisame's back. Kisame flew up the stairs of the main hall stairway and down the long hallway. He stopped himself in front of Sakura's door and slammed the side of his fist against it three times.

"Who is it?" Sakura's voice sounded on the other side of the door.

"I thought I told you to come down for dinner?!" Kisame yelled.

"See Sakura I told you he'd be angry." Another voice sounded from behind the door.

"Tenten shh," Sakura whispered, "anyway, I'm sorry, I'm not familiar with who that is." She finished louder so Kisame could hear.

"Look girl don't you dare speak to me like that! I am the master of this castle and as the master I _order_ you to come down to dinner!" Kisame stamped his foot.

"I'm not hungry. And even if I was there is no way I would come to dinner with someone who _orders_ me to. Now get lost." Sakura said calmly. Kisame stood completely shocked. No one had _ever_ spoken to him like that. Who the hell did this girl think she was?!

"I swear if you don't agree to come to dinner with me I _will_ break this door down!" Kisame threatened.

"Be my guest. You're going to have to break the door down, kidnap me _again_, tape me to a chair and force feed me before I would _ever_ go to dinner with someone like _you_!" Sakura replied.

"Why you little…"

"Master, what did we say about controlling your temper?" Itachi asked.

"Oh, did you have to remind him now Itachi? It was getting interesting." Konan sighed.

"It's hard to control my temper when she's being so difficult!" Kisame yelled the last part so Sakura could hear him.

"Oh go jump out the tower window, and make sure you hit a couple of rocks on the way down." Sakura replied. Kisame opened his mouth to retort when Itachi cut him off.

"Master, remember your temper…" He whispered.

"Yes Master, gently, remember?" Konan urged him. Kisame glared at the door.

"Would you come to dinner?" He asked through clenched teeth.

"No." Sakura replied flatly. Kisame pointed at the door angrily while looking at Itachi and Konan. He was trying to prove a point but was failing miserably.

"Try again, and ask like you mean it, yeah." Deidara whispered into Kisame's ear. Kisame took a deep breath and clenched his fists.

"It would be so kind of you…if you would…_please_…grace me with your presence…at a dinner we have prepared…to celebrate your arrival." Kisame managed to spit out. They all turned as the door to Sakura's room opened a fraction of an inch. Sakura's bright green eyes shone in Kisame's shadow. They all smiled thinking that maybe this meant she had come around. Instead, Sakura looked up at Kisame and glared darkly.

"No." She said again and stuck her tongue out before slamming the door closed.

"Son of a bitch." Hidan muttered. Silence filled the hallway. Itachi, Deidara, Hidan, and Konan looked up at Kisame. His eyes were closed and his left eyebrow was twitching. He was angry, really angry.

"That's it!" He suddenly screamed. Konan jumped back and hissed, Deidara hid behind Itachi, Hidan slowly stepped away and Itachi stood still and emotionless as always.

"If you're not going to eat with me then you can sit in that room and starve!" He yelled. He turned around and faced the small animals that were huddled around each other.

"If she doesn't eat with me, then she doesn't eat at all." He growled and stormed off down the hallway.

"Well, that went well, yeah." Deidara said sarcastically.

Itachi sighed. "This is going to be much harder than anticipated. Konan stay outside her door and let me know if she decides to join the Master for dinner. Deidara and Hidan, you two will head down to the dinning room and clean up some of the mess."

"And what about you Itachi, yeah?" Deidara asked.

"Yeah, why the fuck do we have to do all the fucking work?" Hidan asked angrily.

"I have some of my own business to attend to." Itachi replied.

"What kind of business, yeah?" Deidara asked curiously. Itachi turned to look at him, a dark glare filling his red eyes.

"Nothing for you to worry about." He replied calmly. Deidara slowly shrank back as a dark aura emitted from Itachi.

"Well, uh, we better go Hidan, yeah." Deidara quickly said. He grabbed Hidan and quickly dragged him away.

"I'll make sure to keep watch." Konan said walking over to Sakura's door. Itachi nodded and turned to leave. He quickly ran down the hallway, and after his Master.

* * *

Kisame stormed down the hallway and down the stairs. He took a quick turn and headed up the western staircase. He was headed for the west wing, the only part of the castle where he could blow off steam in privacy. Finally he reached the door that lead into his room. He charged through the door and stomped into a dark room. There were cobwebs and dust covering every part of the room. Debris and chairs, among other furniture, were strewn about the floor. The room had been left untouched for years besides Kisame sometimes entering it on his own.

"I can't believe that girl!" He muttered to himself throwing a chair out of his way. He walked past a portrait of himself, the only one he had, of when he was still a human. It had slash marks across it so the canvas fell limp covering his face.

"I come and ask her nicely to dinner and she refuses! No one has ever refused me before!" He continued pushing over furniture. Finally he walked over to the one spot of his room that he was most careful in. It was a spot right near his windows that lead on to a balcony over looking the castle grounds. This spot was where he had placed his most valued possession, the red rose that had been given to him the night he was transformed.

The rose was covered by a glass casing and floated an inch above the ornate table it had been placed on. It glowed with a faint pink light and would determine whether Kisame would remain a beast for the rest of eternity.

"I mean what does she want me to do? Beg?!" He asked loudly. Suddenly an idea struck him. He quickly turned to the table with the rose on it. His heart sunk as he realized the rose was already beginning to wilt. Kisame quickly shook his head and reached for the item he had been looking for. It was the magic mirror that he had been given as a gift some time ago. It was a simple mirror with a white frame that had a design that resembled a rose garden. Vines and leaves covered the mirror's frame with a rose design at the top. Kisame quickly lifted the mirror. He stared into it his round, black eyes staring back and glared.

"Show me the girl." He ordered. A faint green glow began to emit from the mirror's frame and it looked as if green electricity was surging around the mirror. The green glow got brighter and turned white as it merged into a small swirl of light in the middle of the mirror. The light quickly faded revealing an image of Sakura sitting on her bed. Her arms were folded and she was glaring at her door. Tenten, the armoire, was standing next to her and she looked worried.

"Sakura you really shouldn't have said that, the Master seemed really upset." Tenten was telling her; unaware that Kisame was now watching the entire scene play out.

"I don't care. He has absolutely no manners." Sakura replied still angry.

"Well, he's not all that bad once you get to know him." Tenten continued a small smile crossing her face.

"Again, I don't care. I don't want to be in this stupid castle. I don't want to get to know him. I hate him. He's rude, he's arrogant, he has one of the nastiest tempers I've ever seen! I don't think I've ever met anyone I could hate as much as I hate him! Did you hear the way he spoke to me? Like I was some servant he could just order around and get to do whatever he wanted. Well I'm not. I am a human being and until he treats me like one I will continue to hate him and I will _not_ leave this room! I don't want anything to do with him." Sakura replied angrily. Tenten opened her mouth to help the situation more, but closed it realizing there was nothing more she could say. Sakura had made up her mind, and she wasn't about to change it.

Kisame sighed and put the mirror back down on the table. He looked down at the mirror and placed his hand on it. He felt his face fall as a harsh sadness filled his body. He clenched his fist.

"Who do I think I'm fooling? There's no way she can ever see me more…than just a monster." Kisame put his hand on his head as another petal slowly floated down to the table.

"It's hopeless." He whispered to himself.

"Master…?" Kisame looked up to see Itachi slowly entering his room.

"Itachi what do you want?" Kisame asked turning away.

"I came to make sure, you are alright." Itachi replied.

"Well I'm fine, you can go. You probably have a dinner to clean up after all." Kisame spat.

"Deidara and Hidan are already cleaning the dinner Master."

"Well, then why are you here? You know I prefer to be alone when I come to my room."

"Yes Master I know. Well, if nothing is wrong, then I suppose I shall take my leave." Itachi stepped towards the door and bowed. He turned to leave but then stopped.

"Master, though the situation is not at its best, there is still hope. Sakura is stubborn, yes, but she has a kindness in her that I have not seen in many other girls. She is also strong, stronger than most. Give her some time, give her a chance, and I have a feeling she may still come around." Itachi said. Kisame felt a small smile begin to cross his lips.

"Thank you, Itachi." He said staring out at the night sky. The clouds were rolling by and the stars were beginning to shine brightly.

"Your welcome, Master." Itachi replied. He bowed once more and then scurried out of the room. Kisame continued to stare up at the sky. Perhaps Itachi had a point. Sakura was stubborn, perhaps even more stubborn than he was, and she was strong, there was no doubt about that. Many people would have run for it or tried to make another deal before even considering being held captive by him, but she didn't. She chose to stay to save her father, and she was the first person who had ever stood up to him.

"Maybe I should give her a chance. If she at least gives me one as well." Kisame whispered. He chuckled to himself and turned away from his window. He put his hands behind his back and walked towards the door. He opened the door and stepped outside.

"Maybe I'll go for a walk. That usually calms me down. And then maybe, if she'll hear me out, I can apologize. We can start over, yeah, and we can maybe share a midnight snack. Yeah, that's a good plan." Kisame muttered to himself. He closed the door behind him and began his walk down to the main hall.

Itachi watched as his Master walked by, seeming suddenly more cheerful than before.

"Perhaps there is more hope for him after all. At least I hope so, for if there isn't, then this castle and everyone in it, are doomed."


End file.
